The prosecutors in the ongoing classified documents case against former President Donald Trump may face significant delays and challenges that could potentially push the start of the trial into 2025, according to court watchers.
As the case unfolds, it appears that Trump has various advantages that enable him to impede the progress of the prosecution, which involves 37 counts of mishandling classified documents and obstruction of justice.
Brian Greer, a former attorney with the CIA, explained that Trump holds the upper hand when it comes to stonewalling the case.
“It’s going to be very difficult to bring a case like this to trial within the year, given the highly sensitive classified information at issue,” Brian Greer told The Hill.
“Plus, Trump is going to seek every delay possible. If Judge [Aileen] Cannon goes along with these delaying tactics, we’ll be looking at a trial in 2025 at the earliest.” Greer added.
Judge Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, has previously ruled in favor of the former president during initial proceedings, such as the FBI’s extensive search of Mar-a-Lago following the discovery of the documents. Trump’s legal team has already started laying the groundwork for potential challenges, aiming to have the entire case dismissed based on allegations of prosecutorial overreach and witness tampering.
Brandon Van Grack, a former top national security director at the Justice Department, noted that the prosecutors’ strategy of focusing on the most damaging documents is an attempt to expedite the trial. However, it remains to be seen whether Judge Cannon will accept this argument.
“These appear to be even more sensitive than your typical retention case, and what I would think from that is that the intelligence community very much is also focused on the fact that they view the conduct here as something that was potentially harmful and damaging to national security. So they’re taking it just as seriously as the Department of Justice is taking it,” he reportedly told The Hill.
Moreover, the case is now entering the discovery phase, during which Trump’s attorneys have promised aggressive depositions against federal agents who may introduce biases that could compromise the fairness of the case.
Furthermore, Alina Habba, an attorney representing the former president, indicated that her team intends to question why the FBI instructed Mar-a-Lago staff to deactivate security cameras during their raid on the president’s compound.
