The trial of former US President Donald Trump for handling classified documents will be held in May 2024, Judge Aileen Cannon announced Friday.
Well after prosecutors asked to hold the trial in December this year, Cannon stressed that this date cannot guarantee a fair trial.
Trump’s trial will therefore take place on May 20, 2024, but the case is likely to be delayed as Trump’s team has made it clear that they plan to file various motions. These motions are likely to push back the trial date, a move that could bring the trial closer to the presidential election, which risks further demands to delay the trial.
The Republican leader faces 37 charges in the case, including violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice.
Last month, the former White House tenant announced he had been charged in the investigation into his handling of classified documents.
The National Archives Department spent months recovering presidential records after Trump left, with the former president’s team eventually turning over a tranche that included nearly 200 classified documents.
This sparked the Justice Department’s investigation which included a subpoena and eventually proceeded to search Trump’s Palm Beach property in August 2022, where the FBI found more than 100 other classified documents.
Trump’s team had turned over only 38 classified files in June 2022 when asked to turn over all remaining classified documents.
The billionaire and Republican primary frontrunner for the 2024 presidential election was indicted in a New York court in an improper payments case earlier this year.