On Thursday, Donald Trump's lawyers told a U.S. judge that he believes he cannot obtain a fair trial this year for mishandling secret documents after leaving office while running for president.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Trump, requested a July 8 trial start on Thursday. Former president's lawyers filed that Trump "strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution."
After claiming such on the first page, they suggested a trial start date of Aug. 12, 2024, on the seventh page. A Trump attorney did not immediately remark on the difference.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon will consider when to start the trial, one of four criminal prosecutions against Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, on Friday.
Cannon said she would consider delaying the May 20 trial until Friday after pushing back many pre-trial dates. Trump has denied 40 federal charges of storing secret national security papers at his Florida club after leaving office in 2021 and impeding government efforts to obtain them.
Trump, his personal assistant Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira are charged. Both deny wrongdoing.
Trump has repeatedly tried to delay all four of his criminal charges, claiming they are politically motivated to hurt his election campaign.
Trump will go on trial in New York state court on March 25 for falsifying records to pay a porn star hush money before the 2016 election. Whether the other three cases will get to trial before November is unknown.
Follow for more updates