US Special Counsel Seeks to Have Trump's Classified Docs Trial Begin December 11

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Special Counsel Jack Smith seeks to have former US President Donald Trump's case over his alleged mishandling of classified documents begin on December 11, according to a court filing.

"The government has received and reviewed the Court’s Omnibus Order Setting Trial Date and Establishing Pretrial Instructions and Sentencing Procedures," the court filing stated on Friday.

"For the reasons discussed below, the government files this motion to continue the trial date to December 11, 2023."

The trial is currently expected to begin on August 14, according to the filing, but attorneys on both sides of the legal battle want more time to prepare.

Prosecutors in the case have charged Trump with 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of withholding a document or record, one count of corruptly concealing a document or record, one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal, and making false statements and representation.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the 37 criminal charges he faces, and has continued to blast the latest legal filings as being part of a political scheme to prevent his reelection bid.

According to the indictment, the classified documents Trump stored in boxes at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida included information about defense and weapons capabilities of both the US and foreign countries, US nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the US and its allies to military attack, and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.