While things are getting more unpleasant for former US President Trump in court in New York, he is achieving success in Miami: the proceedings there in the documents affair will probably not begin before the election in November.
The trial against former US President Donald Trump in the affair surrounding the taking of secret state documents was actually supposed to begin on May 20th. But as the responsible judge in Florida announced in a letter, the start of the proceedings will be postponed. The reason for this are open legal questions given the large number of applications, explained Aileen Cannon. She did not give a new date.
For special prosecutor Jack Smith, the decision is a setback. It is unlikely that the process will begin before the presidential election in November, in which Trump is expected to run again as the Republican candidate.
Secret documents kept in private villa
The 77-year-old was charged at the federal level in the documents affair last year. In this case, he is accused of illegally storing highly sensitive information from his time as president. In August 2022, the FBI federal police searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and confiscated several sets of documents classified as top secret that he had not handed over to the National Archives as required. These are said to have included military plans and information about nuclear weapons.
Trump is also accused of trying to destroy evidence in the case. On the most serious charges he faces up to ten years in prison.
Trump pleaded not guilty at the arraignment in Miami last year. His lawyers are trying to avert the proceedings. Among other things, they rely on Trump’s immunity as president. They argue that keeping the documents as personal records was an official act of the president.
Is the judge delaying the proceedings?
Judge Cannon, who is responsible for the documents process, was once appointed by Trump. Critics accuse her of dragging out the process and processing applications in slow motion. As justification for postponing the start of the trial, Cannon wrote that setting a trial date at this point would be “ill-advised.” There are too many open legal questions that still need to be clarified. It would take appropriate preparation and time to treat this fully and fairly in order to present this case to a jury.
A total of four cases against Trump
For the Republican, the decision is a success. He is currently facing charges in a New York court in connection with hush money payments to a porn actress. That’s why he regularly spends long hours in the courtroom.
In total, Trump is currently confronted with four criminal proceedings: In addition to the trial in the documents affair and the hush money case in New York, there is also an election fraud trial at the federal level and another in the US state of Georgia.