(CN) — A federal judge put off an immediate decision on whether to set a trial date for Donald Trump as he battles criminal accusations he mishandled classified information.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon told attorneys after the nearly two-hour hearing she would issue a written decision promptly on the trial date, The Associated Press reported.
Trump’s attorneys urged the judge, whom Trump appointed to the bench in 2020, to delay the trial until after the presidential election. In a court filing last week, defense attorneys argued it would be hard to ensure a fair trial during the heated campaign season, in which Trump is seeking a second term in office.
Also playing into the trial's timing are the case’s complexity and mountains of evidence. On June 21, the Justice Department handed the defense more than 300,000 documents and 57 terabytes of raw surveillance footage it collected during the investigation, the filing states. That did not include classified evidence, which the lawyers will not be able to review until they obtain interim security clearances.
The Justice Department has proposed a Dec. 11 trial date, arguing the case is not so complex. Prosecutor David Harbach told the judge that Trump’s legal team has repeatedly suggested he should be treated differently because he’s running for president.
“He should be treated like everyone else,” said Harbach, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and Eastern District of Virginia.
Trump is charged with 37 federal criminal counts, including 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to mishandle national security secrets.
The former president skipped the hearing to attend a televised town hall meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His personal aide and co-defendant in the case, Walt Nauta, did attend. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Cannon was assigned to the case last month but her prior involvement in the proceedings dates back to the weeks immediately after the FBI raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate last year. The judge tried to block the Justice Department from using the seized documents until a third party could review them for privilege. The 11th Circuit quickly overturned the blockade and later reversed the special master's appointment altogether.
Only hours before Tuesday's hearing, Trump announced on social media he received a so-called target letter in connection to a criminal investigation into his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Target letters are sent to criminal suspects when substantial evidence links them to a crime, suggesting more criminal charges could be filed against the Republican candidate.
Tuesday’s hearing also addressed procedures for safeguarding government secrets pursuant to the Classified Information Procedures Act.
The 1980 law is intended to stop defense attorneys from using the disclosure of confidential information to pressure the government into dismissing their client’s case. Prosecutors have argued the tactic is a form of blackmail, or “graymail,” that pits the interests of justice against national security.
In a proposed protection order filed Monday, the Justice Department offered procedures for safeguarding materials the former president allegedly kept at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort, including documents on the nation’s nuclear programs and weapons capabilities.
Under the prosecutor’s plan, classified evidence would be specially marked to indicate it can be shared with the defendants. Materials would be stored in a “sensitive compartmented information facility” to ensure they cannot be accessed by unauthorized people. A classified information security officer would manage materials and assist attorneys with access.
Anyone who leaks classified information could face contempt and prosecution, the order warns.
Defense attorneys said in a filing Friday they have mostly completed the steps necessary to obtain interim security clearances.
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