WASHINGTON — The Justice Department urged a decide Thursday to reject Donald Trump’s efforts to postpone his labeled paperwork trial, saying there was no foundation for an “open-ended” delay sought by his attorneys.
Federal prosecutors final month proposed a Dec. 11 trial for Trump, who’s charged with 37 felony counts associated to the mishandling of labeled paperwork at his Mar-a-Lago property, although the precise date will probably be as much as the decide.
Trump’s attorneys countered this week with a request for a delay. They didn’t suggest a selected date however mentioned the case involved novel authorized points, and continuing with a trial inside six months is “unreasonable” and would “result in a miscarriage of justice.”
On Thursday, prosecutors on particular counsel Jack Smith’s staff responded by asking U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to not postpone the trial past the December date they advisable.
They rejected the concept any of the authorized arguments the protection intends to lift requires postponement of the trial, saying they’ve already produced grand jury transcripts and unclassified witness statements. They mentioned that within the subsequent week, they are going to produce witness statements for interviews carried out by June 23, or two weeks after the indictment was returned.
Though the protection attorneys had mentioned a continuance was essential as a result of they hadn’t but acquired labeled proof within the case, prosecutors famous that as of Thursday, solely two of the attorneys have submitted an utility for a safety clearance that will allow them to entry such proof.
Defense attorneys had additionally argued that Trump’s busy marketing campaign schedule for the 2024 Republican nomination wanted to be taken into consideration in scheduling a trial. But prosecutors mentioned that, too, was not a foundation for an indefinite delay.
“Many indicted defendants have demanding jobs that require a considerable amount of their time and energy, or a significant amount of travel,” they wrote.
The Justice Department additionally disputed the instructed that an neutral jury couldn’t be chosen earlier than the presidential election.
“Our jury system relies on the Court’s authority to craft a thorough and effective jury selection process, and on prospective jurors’ ability and willingness to decide cases based on the evidence presented to them, guided by legal instructions from the Court,” the prosecutors wrote.
“To be sure,” they added, “the Government readily acknowledges that jury selection here may merit additional protocols (such as a questionnaire) and may be more time-consuming than in other cases, but those are reasons to start the process sooner rather than later.”
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