US Judge Sets Trial Date in Trump Classified Docs Case for May 2024

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – A US federal judge set the trial date for former President Donald Trump in the classified documents case for May 20, 2024, just six months before the 2024 election kicks off.

The Friday court order by US District Judge Aileen Cannon states the two-week jury trial will start on May 20, 2024, and take place in Fort Pierce, Florida.

The start date puts the trial toward the end of the Republican primaries, with the Republican National Convention only taking place some two months later in mid July. It also places legal proceedings in between previous requested dates by special counsel Jack Smith and the Trump camp.

Additionally, the Mar-a-Lago-linked trial will come just weeks after Trump's anticipated March 2024 case into alleged hush payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The one-time commander-in-chief is facing 34 counts in the New York trial.

In Florida, Trump is facing up to 20 years in prison after US prosecutors charged him with 37 counts in relation to allegations he mishandled classified documents by storing them at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home.

An earlier indictment states the classified documents Trump stored in boxes at his Florida residence 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.

Trump has insisted the criminal prosecutions against him are designed to stop him from challenging US President Joe Biden in the November 2024 elections.

The former president attended his first court hearing on charges in Miami on June 13. Later that same day, Trump told supporters at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey that the indictment was a "political persecution" and vowed to "totally obliterate the deep state" if reelected in 2024.