Government Rejects Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Trial Delay Request

Prosecutors have emphatically rejected Donald Trump’s efforts to secure an indefinite postponement in his classified documents case.

In legal documents filed with a Florida court, Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith and his team assert that Trump’s legal team has been “misrepresenting” the extent of government disclosure to the defense.

They are urging Judge Aileen Cannon, an appointee of Trump, to dismiss Trump’s plea for an unlimited delay in the case. This case alleges that Trump hoarded classified federal documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The response states, “The defendants’ motion for an indefinite extension should be denied.”

Trump’s legal team had previously submitted a motion requesting an indefinite delay in the case, citing inadequate government disclosure as the reason.

The prosecutors’ reply accuses Trump’s lawyers of seeking to delay the case because they are aware of the October 20, 2023, deadline for the defense to make any further discovery requests.

“The Government has complied with (and exceeded) its discovery obligations to date, the defense has demonstrated that they are fully equipped to file a motion to compel any unclassified discovery they seek,” the submission said.

The submission further notes the government “does not oppose a 10-day extension of the deadline to file a motion to compel classified discovery given the complications surrounding defense access to classified discovery that have now been resolved.”

This pertains to the exceptional security measures necessary for Trump’s legal team to access the classified documents reportedly seized from Mar-a-Lago.

Due to the highly classified nature of the material, the government is coordinating special couriers from the intelligence community to deliver the documents to Trump’s lawyers and subsequently return them to their original location.

Government attorneys informed Judge Cannon the previous week that they anticipate the secure facility to be operational by the week’s end while keeping its location confidential.

The most recent submission by the prosecutors acknowledges that a brief delay might be necessary due to the heightened security measures that had to be implemented.

The response stated that the defense motion “fails to disclose the Government’s position during conferral on this motion, in which the Government agreed to a brief continuance of the deadline for any motions to compel classified discovery.”

Furthermore, it pointed out that the motion “misrepresents the record regarding the production of classified and unclassified discovery” and “disregards their own demonstrated ability to formulate requests for additional unclassified discovery.”

Government submissions in court revealed that prosecutors have already provided the Trump legal team with one million pages of documents, which include numerous classified documents, as well as details about CCTV footage and other security records related to Mar-a-Lago searches.

Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara has recently asserted that Trump’s aim is to delay his two federal criminal trials, possibly to exonerate himself if reelected as president. Bharara suggested that Trump may have three options to avoid these trials: self-pardon, the appointment of a favorable attorney general, or asserting federal immunity.

On his podcast, “Stay Tuned With Preet,” Bharara emphasized that just as the Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to a speedy trial, the public and the government should also anticipate a swift trial, free from unwarranted delays.

Bharara underscored that “time is ticking” in Trump’s two federal cases and raised the concern that it might not be feasible to prosecute the former president if he secures re-election next year.

The other federal case, taking place in Washington, D.C., pertains to Trump’s alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election, with Trump denying all charges in both cases.