Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to reporters final month in Washington. Smith has requested a court docket to not delay Trump’s trial indefinitely as the previous president has requested.

Jose Luis Magana/AP

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Jose Luis Magana/AP

Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to reporters final month in Washington. Smith has requested a court docket to not delay Trump’s trial indefinitely as the previous president has requested.

Jose Luis Magana/AP

Special counsel Jack Smith informed a federal choose there may be “no basis in law or fact” for indefinitely suspending the federal trial of former President Donald Trump and urged the court docket to proceed with jury choice in December.

In a brand new court docket submitting, Smith wrote that one in every of Trump’s authorized arguments “borders on frivolous” and mentioned there is not any proof that ready till after the 2024 presidential election would make the method any simpler.

“The legal issues Defendants raise do not justify deviation from a speedy trial date, much less open-ended deferral of considering one,” wrote Smith and assistant particular counsel David Harbach.

Trump faces dozens of felony costs for willful retention of nationwide safety data, together with extremely labeled papers he allegedly saved in a ballroom and a toilet at his Florida resort. He’s additionally accused of conspiring to hinder the FBI investigation alongside his valet Walt Nauta, who allegedly moved packing containers to evade authorities scrutiny. Both males have pleaded not responsible.

This week, Trump and Nauta suggested Judge Aileen Cannon postpone the trial, perhaps until after the results of the presidential election, the place Trump is operating for the Republican nomination.

“There is simply no question any trial of this action during the pendency of a Presidential election will impact both the outcome of that election and, importantly, the ability of the Defendants to obtain a fair trial,” wrote Trump attorneys Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche.

But federal prosecutors are pushing again on the thought of a big delay. They mentioned Trump’s anticipated problem to the authority of the particular counsel would seemingly fail, as related efforts did a minimum of twice earlier than, within the Nixon period and through Trump’s personal tenure within the White House.

Smith additionally scoffed on the protection plan to make use of the Presidential Records Act as a protect, declaring that post-Watergate legislation just isn’t a felony statute and it doesn’t cowl the alleged hoarding of nationwide safety secrets and techniques.

“[T]hey should not be permitted to gesture at a baseless legal argument, call it ‘novel,’ and then claim that the Court will require an indefinite continuance in order to resolve it,” wrote Smith and Harbach.

As for the heavy quantity of paperwork and video footage within the case, the particular counsel attorneys identified that there are solely about 4,500 “key” pages and practically one-third of the over 800,000 pages consists of non-content e mail header and footer data for 2 e mail account holders.

Smith and Harbach mentioned that they had already handed over to the defendants all of the unclassified witness statements and memos for interviews earlier than mid-May of this 12 months, in addition to grand jury transcripts for classes in Washington, D.C., and the Southern District of Florida. More materials will head to the protection inside the subsequent week, they wrote.

In all, the particular counsel mentioned that they had gathered about 340 labeled paperwork from the Mar-a-Lago resort, and would start sharing “the large majority” of them as soon as protection attorneys obtain correct safety clearances.

“In sum, neither the amount of classified discovery in this case nor the timetable for its production is a reason for an indefinite continuance of the trial date,” Smith and Harbach wrote.

Lawyers for the Justice Department, Trump and Nauta are due in a federal court docket in Ft. Pierce, Fla., subsequent Tuesday afternoon for a listening to on labeled data procedures within the case. That listening to was delayed after a request from the protection groups.

Jury points loomed giant in Trump’s court docket submitting earlier this week. The particular counsel workforce informed the court docket that selecting a jury might require a particular questionnaire and different steps, however “those are reasons to start the process sooner rather than later.”

“The Government’s position is that the best way to move this case forward consistent with the Defendants’ rights and the public’s interest is to set a trial date now,” they mentioned.

Trump, who’s at present the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, is touring across the nation for rallies and occasions, another excuse his attorneys cited for a delay. But the Justice Department workforce mentioned that many indicted folks have hectic jobs that contain journey, and Trump needs to be handled no in another way.