New this morning, Donald Trump's
legal team is asking the judge
to hold off
on setting a trial date
in the former president's
classified documents case.
In a late night
court filing, Trump's
legal team
said the presidential election cycle
in the way they put
it is will create
extraordinary challenges in the jury.
Selection process.
They want the trial delayed
until after the 2024 election, contending
that otherwise
it will be virtually impossible
to seat an impartial jury.
While Trump is running
for the White House.
Lawyers for Trump Aide
While Nevada
are also looking for a delay.
CNN's Paula
Reid has much more on this one.
Paula, what are you hearing from
the special counsel
with regard to both of these requests?
Okay.
Jack Smith has made it clear
he wants a, quote, speedy trial.
He has suggested doing this in December,
which feels like it's a ways away.
But given the complexities of this case,
that would be indeed a speedy trial.
But the former president
has every incentive
to want to delay this until
after the election.
Now, you can't just tell the judge,
hey, it's not convenient
for me to do this right now.
You have to make legal argument.
So that's what they're putting forth
right now.
They are arguing that this case
is going to raise
unprecedented questions
that will have to be litigated
and that will take time.
They've also raised this question
about whether you can even seat
an impartial jury
leading up to something as consequential
as a presidential election.
They also laid out about half a dozen
other legal challenges
that they intend to bring.
In this case,
everything came from questions
about whether these documents
were really classified
to trying to challenge
the authority of the special counsel
Now, it's not likely
they're going to succeed
with those challenges,
but they have every right to bring them
and they have the effect
of delaying this. Right.
This takes time for the courts
to hash out these questions.
And that's what Jack
Smith was worried about.
That's why
one of the few things he said publicly
is that he wanted this to move quickly,
that that is in the public interest
So the final word, though, lies
with the judge and everybody
we were watching.
Trump appointed Eileen Cannon
as she decides
whether she is
going to let this
sort of play out over a few years
or she, too, is going to push
for a speedy trial.
And finally, just one
example of
this is they had a hearing scheduled
for this Friday.
Well, not wanted to delay that.
And the special counsel pushed back.
Absolutely not.
They really went to the mat over this.
They said that it is
in the public interest
not to keep delaying things
because he knows that you have
of course, these big questions.
Right, about being able
to seat an impartial jury.
But even these little incremental
scheduling delays,
these add up over time.
So as of now, it appears at that hearing
will be next week instead.
So not a long delay.
But again, over time,
these little delays add up
and it's up to the judge to decide
when this goes to trial.
That's right.
Good to see you, Paul.
Thanks for the update, Sara.
With us now
is CNN legal
analyst and former federal prosecutor
Eliot Williams.
Thank you so much for joining us
today, Eliot.
First, let's
just get
to the likelihood of all of this.
What is the likelihood that Judge Cannon
will agree to postponing this? Really?
Trump is asking until after
the presidential election.
You know, Sara,
that's a political question,
not a legal one now.
Certainly any criminal defendant
has a right to a fair trial
at a reasonable time
now trying to postpone it
until after the election.
I think poses a few problems
for President Trump.
I think, number one,
when it comes to juries,
The law presumes and anticipates
that jurors can be fair
if instructed as to what their duties
and obligations are.
And a lot of jurors come in and say,
I could never
hold this person in judgment.
And then the judge explains to them
what the law is and says, look,
you have to do that.
And often the jurors will agree to it.
So No.
One, I think
they actually probably can find a fair
jury in a county of 1.1 million people.
You can find 12 folks to do it.
The other question is that, you know,
Trump is quite literally
the most famous person on the planet,
or at least one of them.
Whether he's tried
prior to the election or not,
whether he's a candidate or not,
his fame is still going to be an issue.
So this whole idea
that he just can't get a fair
trial anywhere in Atlanta,
I think is not
not going to hold much water.
You make a really good point.
I mean, his name is known worldwide,
and that's not going to change
during the election.
I want to ask you about Trump's aide.
Well, not it
because he is asking for delay
for different reasons
when you see these two things coming.
Obviously, Donald Trump
helping to to pay for his
his attorneys as well.
Do you think these two moves
are really just a tactic to delay or
is this a reasonable request
with not a saying, look, my attorney,
my main attorney is doing something else
at the time, trying something else.
But the prosecution says he has a Florida
attorney that can do just fine.
Sara Sidner, stop.
You're both right,
because, number
one, as a criminal defendant,
he's entitled to a fair trial.
And I think prosecutors and judges
are often very careful
on issues like this
because the one thing
that can mess up a conviction
and get it thrown out on appeal
is jeopardizing
or violating a defendant's
speedy trial
or just trial rights in general.
So I think the proceeding
with a little bit of caution
now, look,
it does appear that
he's trying
to slow these proceedings down
quite a bit
with a number of these pleadings
and filings.
At a certain point,
the judge can just set a trial date
and say and document on the record.
These are all the opportunities
that the prosecution
has given the defendant.
This is when all of our hearings
where this is, in fact a fair
trial date and put it on the calendar
and see what happens.
But but again,
both see
both the prosecutor
and the judge have to proceed
with a little bit of caution
because this could really jeopardize
the case in the end