Judge Cannon indefinitely postpones Donald Trump's trial for classified document retention
USA TodayMay 01
Start of Trump Classified Docs Case Indefinitely Delayed
Image copyright: Scott Olson/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
A federal judge Tuesday indefinitely delayed the start of former Pres. Donald Trump's trial related to his handling of classified documents after leaving office — making it unlikely the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's case will be heard before the Nov. 5 election.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon in a brief order wrote that the court needs time to "fairly" consider the "myriad and interconnected" pretrial issues, so picking a start date would be "imprudent and inconsistent" with the court's mandate.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Trump wants to push this case past Election Day — so he can kill it if he wins the presidency — and Cannon is shamefully in lockstep with him. No one should be surprised because Trump appointed her to the bench despite her lack of trial experience, and she's done his bidding since the FBI first obtained the evidence. It's telling that, unlike the judges in Trump's other cases, Cannon has only received praise from him and his allies.
Pro-Trump narrative
Smith's case has been on shaky ground for a while and Cannon is wise to put the brakes on. There have been revelations about the handling of evidence by the government — even opening up the idea that the Biden administration set up Trump intentionally. Plus the US Supreme Court hasn't ruled on Trump's potential immunity. Cannon had no choice but to slow things down.