Special counsel Jack Smith requests delay in Trump classified documents trial

Special counsel Jack Smith has requested a delay in the classified and sensitive documents trial of former President Trump from August to December. 

Smith filed a request Friday to set Dec. 11 as the trial’s start date, about four months later than the initial Aug. 14 date that Judge Aileen Cannon set Tuesday. 

The filing notes that because the case concerns classified information, Trump’s counsel will need to receive interim security clearances, which will require additional time for the counsel to review and process the evidence that the government has gathered. 

Smith’s request also explains that additional time would be needed for legal proceedings under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), which states that parties involved in cases concerning classified information can make a motion for a pretrial conference to consider possible matters that may arise related to the prosecution of the case. 

The office also filed a motion to request a pretrial hearing for issues concerning CIPA. The motion states CIPA will govern how the court will oversee the discovery process of classified information and provide a framework for the court to decide the use and admissibility of classified information during the trial. 

Smith’s office noted that it has already begun providing all unclassified information to Trump’s counsel earlier this week. The information included evidence obtained through subpoena and search warrants, grand jury testimony, witness interviews, key documents that the government believes are crucial to its case and copies of footage that the government has obtained. 

“Even with the prompt production the government has arranged, the inclusion of additional time for defense counsel to review and digest the discovery, to make their own decisions about any production to the government, and for the government to review the same, is reasonable and appropriate,” the filing states. 

Smith’s office also motioned to file a sealed list of witnesses provided to Trump’s counsel that Trump and Walt Nauta, an aide who was also charged in the case, are prohibited from contacting. 

Trump was barred from speaking with Nauta or the witnesses about the case during his arraignment earlier this month. 

Although Cannon set the date for jury selection in the trial to start Aug. 14, it was unlikely to begin on that date because of pretrial motions that Trump’s team would file that would delay the proceedings. Legal experts said the trial could be delayed past the 2024 presidential election and into 2025. 

Trump has reportedly turned over tapes of his interviews with media outlets and book authors to Smith amid the discovery process.