Former President Donald Trump.Photo: John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock
Donald Trump’s federal criminal trial over his alleged retention of classified documents, and what prosecutors say was a conspiracy to obstruct justice, has been scheduled for late-May 2024 — right at the tail end of the GOP’s presidential primary season.
The trial datehad initially been set for Aug. 14, 2023, which likely would have seen court proceedings wrap before primary voting begins. But attorneys on both sides sought to delay it, with special counsel Jack Smith seeking a December 2023 trial and Trump seeking a trial after the 2024 presidential election.
The trial will includeWalt Nauta, Trump’s aide and alleged co-conspirator, whopleaded not guiltyafter beingchargedwith making false statements and conspiring to obstruct justice in the case.
Aide Walt Nauta takes a phone from former President Donald Trump during the LIV Golf Pro-Am on May 25, 2023.Alex Brandon/AP Photo
Alex Brandon/AP Photo
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 14, and a trial could be underway as early as May 20.
Trump, 77, is accused of37 criminal offenses: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information (a violation of the Espionage Act); one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Each of the charges against the former president carry potential prison sentences, with the obstruction charges carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years per count. Violating the Espionage Act carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years, and both the conspiracy and false statements charges carry sentences of up to five years per offense.
President Donald Trump visits the Versailles restaurant in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood after being arraigned at a federal courthouse on June 13, 2023.Stephanie Keith/Getty
Stephanie Keith/Getty
In an unsealed, 38-count indictment, prosecutors allege Trump retained over 100 classified documents after leaving the White House, with some of the most sensitive information originating from seven intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA and Department of Defense.
According to the indictment, documents were stored in “a ballroom,a bathroom and shower, an office space, [Trump’s] bedroom, and a storage room,” all at Mar-a-Lago.
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Trump will be juggling his presidential campaign with the classified documents trial andmyriad other legal issues, including hisNew York hush money trialwhich is set for weeks earlier, in March 2024.
Further indictments could also be looming,such as in Georgia, where prosecutors are looking into charges related to 2020 election interference, and in theJustice Department’s wide-ranging investigationof theJan. 6, 2021, attackon the U.S. Capitol.
source: people.com
