Federal judge says Trump’s documents trial should begin Aug. 14

A federal judge on Tuesday said former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges of unlawfully keeping government documents should begin on Aug. 14 in Fort Pierce, Florida.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, set the date in a formal order that also directs attorneys to file pretrial motions by July 24.

It is unclear if the historic case will make it to trial by the August date, given the number of pretrial motions and decisions that will have to be resolved as Mr. Trump becomes the first U.S. president to grapple with federal charges.

The order says the trial will commence on Aug. 14 or “as soon thereafter as the case may be called.”

Fort Pierce is located on Florida’s Atlantic Coast about an hour’s drive north of Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and is in Judge Cannon’s jurisdiction.

Mr. Trump faces more than 30 criminal counts in a federal indictment that was handed up this month by a grand jury in Miami. It alleges that he unlawfully stored classified documents related to nuclear and military secrets, among other papers, at Mar-a-Lago and obstructed efforts to return them to the National Archives. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.

The former president is steeped in a contentious GOP primary for the 2024 presidential nomination. 

An August trial would come well before voters head to the polls in Iowa, New Hampshire and other early primary states next year but would be a distraction from the campaign trail.

Jack Smith, the special counsel who investigated the case, said earlier this month he would seek a speedy trial.

“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk,” he said.  “We very much look forward to presenting our case to a jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida.”

Tom Hogan, a former federal prosecutor who is now in private practice, said an early trial date would give prosecutors an advantage because they “know their case backwards and forwards before they file charges.”

“However, it is extremely unlikely that the trial actually will begin in August,” he said. “In order to comply with the rules of criminal procedure, the judge had to set a prompt trial date. That date almost certainly will be continued as the defense reviews discovery and files pretrial motions, all of which toll the speedy trial clock.”

Mr. Trump says the case is a witch hunt designed to thwart his political ambitions and argues his declassification as president entitled him to the documents.

In an interview Monday, Mr. Trump said he was slow to hand over materials requested by the National Archives because he was busy and needed to sort through his boxes.

“Before I send boxes over, I have to take all of my things out,” Mr. Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things, golf shirts, clothing, pants shoes, there were many things.”

Mr. Hogan said that because Judge Cannon normally presides at the courthouse in Fort Pierce, it is not unusual or significant that she chose to locate the trial there.

“The jurors will be drawn from throughout the Southern District of Florida, which includes both heavily Republican and heavily Democratic areas,” he said. “Jury selection will be a tremendously important issue for both the prosecution and defense, particularly with such a politically diverse jury pool.

He said holding the trial in Fort Pierce will be “relatively convenient for jurors from around the district to attend, probably easier for the U.S. Marshals Service to maintain security and home base for the judge.”