Walt Nauta (L), a US Navy veteran and a White House military valet to former US president Donald Trump, and Stanley Woodward (R), lawyer, arrive at the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building on July 06, 2023 in Miami, Florida.
Eva Marie Uzcategul | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump on Monday night asked a federal court to hold off on setting a date for the criminal trial over his handling of classified documents, arguing that the unprecedented case requires “a measured consideration and timeline.”
The filing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida came in response to the Department of Justice, which had already asked the court to delay the start of the trial by nearly four months to mid-December.
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, had initially scheduled the former president’s criminal trial to start on Aug. 14. Court watchers and legal experts widely expect that the trial will be postponed to a much later date to give the parties adequate time to prepare.
Nauta, Trump’s valet and co-defendant in the case, had only recently pleaded not guilty to the six counts against him because his arraignment was twice delayed. Nauta is charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding and corruptly concealing documents, and making false representations. Trump was arraigned weeks earlier, pleading not guilty to 37 criminal counts.
The sensitive subject matter at the heart of the case could also lengthen the timeline. Since it centers on the top secret documents stored at Trump’s residence, the case and eventual trial will need to adhere to the federal statute that governs how the proceedings will play out.
The Justice Department and Nauta’s lawyers had clashed earlier Monday about when a pre-trial hearing focused on that statute, called the Classified Information Procedures Act or CIPA, should take place. The DOJ opposed Nauta’s request to delay that hearing, which was set for Friday, arguing it was unnecessary.
In a subsequent filing Monday evening, Trump’s attorneys said they had struck an agreement with the DOJ to hold the CIPA hearing Tuesday, July 18.
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