DOJ deems Trump’s request to postpone trial until after elections as ‘almost frivolous’.

Justice Department (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith is standing up to former President Donald Trump’s request to delay the trial until after the 2024 elections. Smith, who was assigned to investigate Trump shortly after the launch of his reelection campaign, argues that there is “no basis” for this delay and is pushing for a trial date of Dec. 11, 2023.

Assistant special counsel David Harbach has filed a response, stating that many of the defenses put forth by Trump’s legal team are “meritless” and “borders on frivolous.” He emphasizes that the demanding schedules of the defendants do not provide a valid reason to delay the trial.

Last month, Donald Trump became the first former or current U.S. president to be formally accused of violating federal law, facing 37 counts. He pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the first pretrial hearing is scheduled for July 18.

Trump’s attorney, Christopher M. Kise, argues for a delay in the trial, citing the extensive amount of material in discovery, the sensitive nature of the documents, and the difficulty of selecting an impartial jury during a national presidential election.

800,000 Pages of Discovery

The defense claims that the government provided over 800,000 pages of discovery, but Assistant special counsel Harbach clarifies that only about 4,500 pages are considered “key” documents. He also points out that a third of those pages are email headers and footers without content, and the “nine months of CCTV footage” is not continuous.

The case began over two years ago when the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requested Trump to return certain documents. NARA discovered documents marked “classified,” although Trump maintains that he had declassified them during his presidency. This led to the FBI searching Mar-a-Lago.

Despite Trump’s involvement in several ongoing cases, the DOJ has decided not to shield him from a defamation case brought by columnist E. Jean Caroll. Additionally, Trump is set to testify in a case against the DOJ by former FBI agent Peter Strzok, despite the DOJ’s attempts to block his deposition.