The news of Donald Trump‘s request for a delay in proceedings related to classified documents has sparked conversation online.
His legal team sent a letter to Judge Aileen Connon, asking for more time for the defendants to reveal their intended expert witnesses for the trial.
The defense needed extra time to identify potential experts, as one they had considered wasn’t available to work on the case.
According to court documents, Trump discussed with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Office about potential expert witnesses for a trial.
Judge Cannon has put the federal classified document trial on hold indefinitely to rule on various case-related matters.
It seems unlikely that Trump will face trial on the 40 felony counts, given this development.
Once the new president takes office in January 2025, Trump could potentially have the option to request the Department of Justice to drop federal charges against him.
A legal reporter mentioned on social media that Trump’s lawyers appeared confident in their request to delay the disclosure of their expert witnesses.
Responding to this, lawyer Patrick Grannan found the wording of the request “weird” and not typical in pretrial proceedings.
Smith’s Team rejected Trump’s request for a delay, stating that they had informed the Defense about the Government’s expert witnesses months before.
Legal experts criticized Trump for his attempt to stall the classified documents proceeding.
A former prosecutor suggested the trial be indefinitely delayed, questioning the need for a trial under the current judge’s supervision.
Another expert in national-security law wondered why Trump had difficulty securing an expert witness, suggesting using experts from Fox News.
Trump faces forty charges related to the illegal possession of classified materials and obstruction of federal efforts to retrieve them after leaving office in January 2021.