The first hearing in former President Donald Trump's criminal case involving classified documents has been pushed to July 18.
A court order Monday established the new date after a dispute in which special counsel Jack Smith implied that Trump and co-defendant Walt Nauta were seeking an "unnecessary" delay by moving the date back from this coming Friday, the Washington Examiner reported on Tuesday.
Nauta had submitted a request to delay the hearing due to his main attorney, Stanley Woodward, having prior obligations this week at a bench trial in Washington, D.C.
Earlier Tuesday, the Examiner reported that Trump wants the classified documents trial postponed until after the 2024 general election. Trump, currently the leading contender to win the Republican presidential nomination, and his aide, Nauta, are scheduled to go on trial in December.
The first hearing before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon may not be conducted in public due to the sensitivity surrounding the classified materials, the Examiner reported.
It will likely be the first of many proceedings before the actual trial begins.
Smith disputed Nauta's request to delay the first hearing. The special counsel wanted to know why Florida-based lawyer Sasha Dadan couldn't handle the hearing instead of Woodward.
"An indefinite continuance is unnecessary, will inject additional delay in this case, and is contrary to the public interest," Smith's team wrote in its filing, the Examiner reported.
Nauta said he had "little notice" that prosecutors would bring charges in the Southern District of Florida, where he would be required to have an attorney licensed in the state.
The Examiner said the co-defendant also raised concerns about his defense team's lack of security clearances. Nauta wrote that it was not reasonable to expect Dadan to assume a lead role on Friday.
A later filing on Monday showed that the defense team and the special counsel team agreed that July 18 would be the date of the first hearing.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges in connection to the classified documents case, including 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents under the Espionage Act.
Nauta pleaded not guilty to charges he helped the former president hide top secret documents that Trump took when he left the White House in 2021, Reuters reported.
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