When Judge Aileen Cannon scheduled the trial of Donald Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents case for August 14, 2023, no one who knew the slightest thing about court procedure expected that to hold. Among other things, Trump doesn’t even have a full defense team (his prior team quit), his new lawyers will need to get security clearances to view classified documents, and procedures for the handling and control of classified material would have to be worked out.
An August trial never was going to happen.
Robert Barnes tweeted at the time:
The scheduling in the Trump case is just a tentative date, and highly unlikely to occur at that time. It’s a common process in many federal courts to schedule a Speedy Trial Act early deadline, then let each side seek continuances as needed. Still unlikely trial occurs in 2023.
On June 23, 2023, the government filed to delay the trial to December. The motion was unopposed by Trump, though Trump’s team reserved the right to contest the proposed dates (emphasis added):
The government has received and reviewed the Court’s Omnibus Order Setting Trial Date and Establishing Pretrial Instructions and Sentencing Procedures (ECF No. 28). For the reasons discussed below, the government files this motion to continue the trial date to December 11, 2023, and to propose the associated intervening deadlines discussed below. A declaration in support of this motion is being filed herewith as Exhibit A. See Local Rule 7.6. Government counsel have conferred with counsel for defendant Trump and defendant Nauta in a good faith effort to resolve the subject matter of this motion by agreement. Defense counsel confirmed they do not oppose an adjournment of the current trial date and request a status hearing with the Court to address the schedule in this action. Defense counsel anticipate filing an opposition to this motion addressing their objections to the government’s proposed dates.* * *5. However, the case does involve classified information and will necessitate defense counsel obtaining the requisite security clearances. As the Court is aware, that process is already underway. According to the Litigation Support Group, decisions on interim clearances for defense counsel can and should be made within 48 hours of submission of the relevant forms. Ex. A ¶ 4. Interim clearances will enable counsel to review the vast majority of classified discovery. Id. ¶ 5. The decision on granting the final clearance required to allow counsel’s review of the remaining small number of classified documents is estimated to occur within 45 to 60 days of form submission. Id.6. In addition, the associated legal process under the Classified Information Procedures Act, Pub. L. 96–456, 94 Stat. 2025, 18 U.S.C. App. III §§ 1–16 (“CIPA”), will inject additional time into the leadup to trial that otherwise would not be involved….* * *9. For all of these reasons, the government respectfully moves the Court for an Order1:a) continuing trial in this matter until December 11, 2023 (jury selection to begin that date);b) excluding the delay resulting from the continuance of trial from the speedy trial calculation in this case under 18 U.S.C. § 3161;c) continuing the Calendar Call for trial until December 5, 2023;d) setting the deadline for pretrial motions under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3) as July 31, 2023; ande) continuing the deadline for all other pretrial motions and motions in limine until November 20, 2023.
The government the same day filed a motion for a conference pursuant to the Classified Information Procedures Act:
Accordingly, the Classified Information Procedures Act, Pub. L. 96–456, 94 Stat. 2025, 18 U.S.C. App. III §§ 1–16 (“CIPA”), will play a significant role in this case. It will govern, pretrial, how the Court oversees classified discovery and rules on the potential discoverability of certain classified information. In addition, CIPA provides a framework for the Court to decide, again pre-trial, issues related to the use and admissibility of classified information at trial, and it sets forth procedures for handling questions related to classified information that might arise during trial. Last, CIPA establishes certain appellate procedures.For the reasons set forth above, as it typically does in prosecutions involving classified information, the government hereby moves pursuant to Section 2 of CIPA “for a pretrial conference to consider matters relating to classified information that may arise in connection with the prosecution.” 1 18 U.S.C. App. 3 § 2. In the motion for a continuance being filed contemporaneously with this motion, the government is providing the Court and defendants with a proposed schedule for when the different proceedings CIPA establishes may occur.
The request for a continuance was a matter of routine, and fully expected. “Shipwrecked Crew” on Twitter, who is representing many J6 defendants, tweeted:
Yesterday’s motion to move Trump documents trial date back to December is a routine procedural move that both sides agreed to — the Govt just filed the paperwork. The Aug. date was set just to satisfy the Speedy Trial Act requirement. Now the sides will agree to “exclude time” under the Act and move the date back. I’m sure the December date will change too. The Co-Defendant hasn’t even been arraigned yet. His attorneys will need to be part of the discussion about when the trial will take place. Don’t pay attention to anyone who tries to read something into the motion. Happens in every federal criminal case.
The government already has produced unclassified documents to Trump’s nascent team:
On June 21, 2023, per the protective order issued in this case (ECF No. 27), the government provided to Defendant Donald J. Trump 1 its first production of unclassified discovery (“Production 1”). The production was made available in three parts. The first part includes, inter alia, documents obtained via subpoena; evidence obtained via search warrants; transcripts of grand jury testimony taken before a grand jury in the District of Columbia and transcripts of grand jury testimony taken before a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida; and memorialization of witness interviews conducted through May 12, 2023. As we have informed counsel, it is the government’s intent to disclose promptly all witness statements and associated memorialization of those statements, even if they would not be deemed discoverable under 18 U.S.C. § 3500. The second part includes a reproduction of “key” documents and photographs included in Production 1 that are referenced in the Indictment and others determined by the government to be pertinent to the case. The third part consists of complete copies of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage obtained by the government in its investigation. To facilitate review, the government also identified and separately produced for the defense “key” excerpts from the CCTV footage, including excerpts referenced in the Indictment or otherwise determined by the government to be pertinent to the case.
The timeline proposed by the prosecution is fast for a case of this importance. While the “facts” may not be complicated, the procedures for exchanging classified discovery will be, as will some of the legal issues.
It’s really not difficult to understand.
Please ignore the people who are claiming that it reflects that the government is afraid to present its case, or that it thinks the case is imploding. And most of all, please ignore the conspiracy theorists who construct elaborate arguments and theories around it and so many other things. These people are misleading — most of all — Trump supporters.
Parting thought, if they are misleading Trump supporters about the Trump trial delay, about what else and who else are they misleading you?
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