Lawyers for former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the classified documents case are arguing that a potential trial date should continue to be pushed back.
In response to a request from the judge, Trump’s lawyers argued in court filing on Friday that despite the fact that a 70-day window to set a trial date will begin on May 20, Judge Aileen Cannon should hit pause to allow the defendants’ lawyers time to examine any further documents produced by prosecutors.
“Discovery remains far from complete in this case,” the lawyers wrote in the motion. “Defendants have sought countless additional records from the Special Counsel’s Office and have requested evidentiary and non-evidentiary hearings that may well result in the production of additional voluminous, and potentially classified, discovery.”
This delay would allow all parties more time to review and resolve the pretrial motions they’ve already filed to the judge, Trump’s lawyers argued.
“Time would also continue to be tolled under the Speedy Trial Act while the Court considers the numerous pretrial motions still pending,” the filing said.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
The motion was filed after Cannon on Tuesday asked Trump’s lawyers to file such a motion by Friday, asking for the report to “include Defendants’ positions on all excludable time from the speedy trial period and expressly indicate any Defendants’ current assertion or waiver of speedy trial rights, with associated timeframes.”
Critics of Trump and Cannon have argued that further delaying the trial would ensure this case isn’t resolved before the presidential general election later this year.
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said that Cannon’s Tuesday request makes it “even clearer” that the Mar-a-Lago documents case “was never going to trial before the election.”
Aronberg, a former Democratic state senator, added, “she has always given the defense the benefit of the doubt and great deference on scheduling.”
The classified documents case stems from charges filed against Trump; one of his aides, Walt Nauta; and a maintenance supervisor Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Carlos de Oliveira.
Prosecutors allege that Trump stored classified documents at the resort after his presidency, which they contend runs afoul of the Presidential Records Act. Trump, Nauta, and de Oliveira have pleaded not guilty.
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