Special Counsel Jack Smith has formally requested a federal judge to postpone the commencement of the trial against former President Donald Trump, who is facing charges of willfully retaining national security secrets and obstructing justice.
In a court filing, Smith appealed to US District Judge Aileen Cannon to extend the trial start date by approximately four months, shifting it from August 14 to December 11. The rationale behind this request is the need for both the prosecution and the defense to have additional time for adequate preparation.
Smith emphasized that the defense team for the 77-year-old former president expressed no opposition to the proposed date change.
The argument put forth by Smith is that the August 14 date “would not allow sufficient time for defense counsel or the government’s attorney to adequately prepare.”
The defense team for Trump faces a particular challenge in obtaining the necessary security clearances to access the evidence presented by Smith against the ex-president.
“[T]he case involves classified information and requires defense counsel to obtain the appropriate security clearances,” stated Smith, highlighting that the process of obtaining clearances to access the most sensitive material may take up to 60 days for the defense team.
He further noted, “the inclusion of additional time for defense counsel to thoroughly review and comprehend the disclosed evidence, make independent determinations regarding any disclosure to the government, and allow the government to conduct its review, is both reasonable and appropriate.”
Smith has accused Trump of violating seven federal laws among the 37 charges that the former president has pleaded not guilty to.
While a range of sentencing possibilities exists, if Trump were to receive the maximum penalty for each count and the judge ordered the sentences to be served consecutively, he could potentially face a 400-year prison term and be subject to a fine of $9,250,000.
Additionally, on Friday, Smith petitioned Judge Cannon to impose restrictions on Trump and his co-defendant Walt Nauta, prohibiting them from discussing the trial with a list of witnesses involved in the government’s case against them.
{Matzav.com}
“Please, we need more time to falsify more ‘evidence’ against Mr. Trump, plus, we might lose and we can’t afford that before the election so can we please keep the threat of UPCOMING CRIMINAL TRIAL!!!! in the public eye as long as possible, to interfere with his campaign and his inauguration if he somehow gets elected?”
Wrong rage. Everyone yards it.
This mad scientist is only motivated by rule of law and the facts, just like our uniter in chief sleepy joe Biden and his boss Barack H. Obama