BREAKING: Judge Sets Date For Trump’s Trial Much Sooner Than Expected

A federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump has moved unusually fast to set an August date for a trial that is sure to upend the presidential campaign and test the limits of the Justice Department’s ability to make its first criminal case ever against a former or current United States president.

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has set a date of August 14th, 2023 for opening statements in the trial against President Trump where federal prosecutors alleged he mishandled classified documents and obstructed attempts by the FBI to retrieve the files. In her decision, Judge Cannon said she expects a jury trial to last two weeks and will give both sides until July 24th to submit pre-trial motions for her consideration.

🚨🚨 Jury trial in the United States of America v. Donald J. Trump classified documents case set:

"This case is hereby set for a Criminal Jury Trial during the two-week period commencing August 14, 2023, or as soon thereafter as the case may be called."https://t.co/SUrN0eBf9E

— The Recount (@therecount) June 20, 2023

The speed with which a trial was called reflects the intense pressure on both Judge Cannon and her subordinate, Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, are under to expedite a trial that court watchers have suggested would be impossible to wrap up ahead of the 2024 Election Day. The court’s latest motion will inevitably require the president’s team of attorneys to move up its timeline for gathering evidence and testimony from witnesses who may introduce examples of bias against the federal government in its case against President Trump. Alina Habba, a lawyer representing Trump, suggested FBI officials should be asked why they ordered Mar-a-Lago staff to shut off security cameras during the raid to retrieve documents in her client’s possession.

To be successful, prosecutors within the Biden administration will need to show that President Trump committed criminal acts by failing to turn over documents he maintains were declassified by executive order or were personal mementos from his time in the White House. Timothy Parlatore, a former attorney for President Trump, called out prosecutors for attempting to demonstrate the president’s guilt by his use of his attorney-client privilege. Prosecutorial conduct, Parlatore said, may be so considerable that the case against the president never reaches a jury trial or could be extended into 2025.

All court hearings will take place in Fort Pierce, Florida. President Trump is facing 37 counts and has pleaded not guilty to all.