Special counsel Jack Smith filed multiple requests related to the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump on Friday, including a motion to move Trump’s trial date to December.
Smith said the request, which would push the trial date from Aug. 14 to Dec. 11, is so Trump’s defense counsel can obtain the proper security clearances needed to review the classified information.
BIDEN EMERGES FROM FIRST HOUSE REPUBLICAN IMPEACHMENT THREAT UNSCATHED
Although interim approval of security clearances should allow the defense to review most of the information, the final decision on security clearance could take between 45 and 60 days since the proper forms were submitted, Smith noted.
An additional legal process under the Classified Information Procedures Act is also expected to delay the trial until December, but Smith included a proposed calendar with the act’s deadlines in Friday’s filings. Smith also requested to seal the witness list of people Trump and his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, are prohibited from speaking to on the case.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Trump was indicted by a Florida grand jury earlier this month for allegedly mishandling classified documents after he left the Oval Office. He faces 37 charges related to the classified document scandal, including 31 counts for the willful retention of national defense information, which violates the Espionage Act. He has pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges.
A transcript from the arraignment was released on Friday, revealing the arraignment lasted exactly one hour. Trump did not speak at all during the legal procedure.
