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By Sean O'Driscoll
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter
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Donald Trump is to go on trial in May for allegedly hoarding classified documents at his Florida resort.
Federal Judge Aileen Cannon has announced that Trump's trial will begin on May 20, 2024, in a Trump-leaning county to the north of the one where the documents were allegedly stored. Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith had sought a December 2023 trial date, and Trump's legal team had argued for a start after the November 2024 election.
The former president is charged with illegally retaining sensitive materials after he left the White House in January 2021 and of attempting to obstruct the federal attempt to retrieve the documents from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trump has long denied all wrongdoing, frequently accusing the Biden administration of having "weaponized" the FBI and DOJ to try to hinder his 2024 presidential campaign, where he is the frontrunner for GOP candidate.
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The trial will take place in Fort Pierce, Florida, a coastal city north of Palm Beach.
It is situated in St. Lucie County, where Trump took 50.8 percent of the vote in the 2020 presidential election, compared to 48.8 percent for Joe Biden, according to the website of the county's supervisor of elections.
Republicans had a major sweep in St. Lucie in the same election, winning the county vote for member of congress, state senator and four state representatives. That could have an effect on potential jury selection.
Trump is alleged to have stored classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach County, where he was not as politically popular in 2020. He pulled 43.2 percent of the vote, compared to 55.9 percent for Joe Biden.
Trump's lawyers had argued that a trial before November would face "insurmountable prejudice in jury selection stemming from publicity about the 2024 Presidential Election."
Cannon noted this in her ruling and wrote that it was unnecessary to address it "at this juncture."
Cannon accepted Trump's lawyers submissions that the case should be designated "complex" under federal law, which may potentially place it on a longer timeline.
Trump has long sought delays in all four criminal cases he faces, which some legal experts may be a ploy to pardon himself if he is elected president.
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In her ruling, Cannon wrote that she is "unaware of any searchable case in which a court has refused a complex designation under comparable circumstances." She added that she expects further argument and briefing on the process for selecting a jury in the case.
Her pretrial schedule includes dozens of interim dates for filings and other pretrial proceedings, including special procedures for handling the volume of classified information. Cannon wrote that the lawyers' initial review of the classified materials will take place at a temporary site, with a permanent one to be established later.
Cannon set one group of pretrial arguments for this coming December 11, when Trump's lawyers will apply to have the charges dismissed and have Smith removed from the case.
Last week, Newsweek revealed that the government is preparing a secure room at a secret location in south Florida, so that Trump's lawyers can review the classified documents he allegedly kept at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
As it is ultra-classified material, the government is arranging special couriers "from the intelligence community" to bring the documents to the Trump lawyers and return them to their original location afterwards.
Government lawyers wrote in submissions to Cannon that they expect the secure room to be ready by the end of last week, but they will not disclose its location. A federal security officer has likely privately informed the judge of its location, the court submission says.
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