The classified documents trial against Donald Trump will begin in May 2024, a federal judge ordered Friday.
According to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the trial could start as early as May 20. A pretrial hearing is set to take place on May 14.
This proposed timeline is different than what both Trump’s team and special counsel Jack Smith’s team originally proposed. Trump originally wanted to postpone the trial until after the 2024 general election took place, whereas Smith wanted the trial to take place in December of this year. If this proposed May timeframe sticks, that means this trial will unfold in the middle of the 2024 election cycle. It also means it will start just two months after the start of Trump’s financial fraud trial.
The date announcement also came on the heels of Trump’s possible third indictment. On Tuesday, Trump revealed via his social media app Truth Social that he had been issued a target letter, again by Smith, and that he is expected to stand before a grand jury. The letter was in reference to the ongoing investigation against Trump over his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Target letters are typically issued to individuals who are believed to have committed a crime to give those individuals an opportunity to cooperate in the investigation.
Trump has already been indicted for the classified documents case and another case out of New York, making him the first president to ever face criminal charges. His first indictment had to do with a financial fraud that involved the Trump Organization as well as the hush money payments given to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump was criminally charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, and the trial is set to take place March 25, 2024.
