A court has determined that former President Donald Trump will stand trial for alleged mishandling of secret documents in the spring of next year.
Judge Aileen Cannon scheduled the case for May 20. Mr. Trump wanted the trial to take place after the November 2024 election. Prosecutors desired it for this year.
The high-profile case will commence during the election season.
Mr. Trump, 77, is facing serious allegations in connection with the storage of sensitive information at his Florida home.
Prosecutors allege that after leaving office, he illegally retained confidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago mansion and impeded government efforts to obtain them.
The former president has maintained his innocence, accusing the investigation of being an attempt to derail his electoral campaign.
Mr Trump claimed in a statement on Friday that the trial date marks a “major setback” to the Justice Department’s “crusade” against him.
“The extensive schedule allows President Trump and his legal team to continue fighting this empty hoax,” added the former president.
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointment, said on Friday that the two-week trial would take place in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The jury’s decision in the Mar-a-Lago case must be unanimous for prosecutors to win a conviction.
Jurors will be chosen from the Fort Pierce division, which includes numerous counties won by Mr. Trump in 2020.
During his hearing in Miami last month, the former president pleaded not guilty to 37 federal offences.
Earlier this week, lawyers on both sides argued in a Fort Pierce courtroom about when the matter should be heard.
Prosecutors claimed that the evidence was straightforward and that there was no reason to postpone the trial. They hoped to start in December.
However, Mr Trump’s lawyers argued that the “extraordinary” nature of the case necessitated more time to prepare.
They claimed that their client would not be able to secure a fair trial before the November 2024 election.
According to polls, Mr. Trump is the clear favourite to be the Republican nominee to face the Democratic nominee, who is expected to be President Joe Biden, next year.
Mr Trump is facing a number of court challenges, including the Mar-a-Lago case.
He was charged with fabricating company records in the state of New York in April.
Mr Trump said this week that he expected to be detained soon in connection with a federal investigation into the two-year-old US Capitol riot and his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.
Prosecutors in Atlanta, Georgia, are also looking into whether the former president violated the law by attempting to overturn poll results in that state three years ago.
Special counsel Jack Smith, hired by the Department of Justice, is handling parallel investigations into the Capitol disturbance and the Mar-a-Lago files.
Prosecutors claimed in an indictment last month that when Mr Trump left office, he transported roughly 300 secret materials to his oceanfront residence in Palm Beach.
He allegedly kept the confidential documents in different locations, including a ballroom and a bathroom.
According to prosecutors, Mr Trump also directed a personal staffer, Walt Nauta, to relocate boxes containing secret data from the resort’s storage room before federal investigators arrived.
Mr Nauta has been charged in the case as well and has pleaded not guilty.
Mr Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York for allegedly concealing hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
On March 25, 2024, the former president will stand trial in the matter.
BBC
