US special counsel seeks delay to start of Trump documents trial until Dec By Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith on Friday asked a federal judge to delay the start of former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges of willful retention of classified government records and obstruction of justice until Dec. 11, a court filing showed.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon set an initial trial date of Aug. 14.

But Smith, in the filing, said the Aug. 14 date “would deny counsel for the defendant or the attorney for the Government the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation.”

Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president for the 2024 election, was arraigned in federal court in Miami last week, during which he pleaded not guilty to charges he unlawfully kept national security documents when he left office and lied to officials who sought to recover them.

The case will need to proceed under a strict and meticulous set of rules set forth in a law known as the Classified Information Procedures Act, which aims to protect classified evidence and manage how such records can be disclosed.

In the filing, Smith said the start of the trial should be delayed so Trump’s lawyers have time to get security clearances to review classified documents.

Smith laid out a schedule in the lead up to the proposed Dec. 11 start of jury selection, including a Sept. 5 deadline for all defense discovery requests.

He said Trump’s lawyers do not oppose scrapping the Aug. 14 trial start date but he anticipates they will file a motion opposing the prosecution’s proposed schedule. A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.