Special counsel Jack Smith continues pushing U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon to grant a “speedy trial” in a classified documents case against former President Donald Trump and two of his employees.
In a filing on Tuesday, Smith presented the court with his ninth speedy trial report. Smith noted that the Speedy Trial Act requires the filing of reports.
“In its July 21 Order Granting in Part Government’s Motion to Continue Trial and Resetting Deadlines (ECF No. 83), the Court excluded all of the time between the date of that Order and the trial date of May 20, 2024,” Smith explained. “The Court confirmed that the same Speedy Trial clock applies to each defendant, that it has been tolled until May 20, 2024, and that 70 days remain on the Speedy Trial clock.”
While Smith is seeking a speedy trial, attorneys for Trump have sought to slow down the proceedings.
“There is no basis in law or fact for proceeding in such an indeterminate and open-ended fashion, and the Defendants provide none,” Smith’s team wrote in a July filing.
“A speedy trial is a foundational requirement of the Constitution and the United States Code, not a Government preference that must be justified,” the filing added. “Defendants’ claim that this Court could not select an impartial jury until after the presidential election does not justify further delay here.”
Trump’s team has said the move for a speedy trial is “unrealistic” and called for it to be postponed until after the 2024 election.
