Trump Calls Trial Date ‘Major Setback’ For Biden DOJ

Former President Donald Trump is celebrating what he perceives as a small victory after U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon announced the trial date for his classified documents case, while some conservatives have questioned the timeline.

On Friday, the Florida judge scheduled trial proceedings in the controversial case to begin on May 20, 2024, while the pretrial hearing will be held on May 14, 2024.

While this wasn’t a total victory for Trump, it is a compromise between the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for the trial to be held in December of this year and Trump’s defense team’s request for the trial to happen after the 2024 presidential election. The trial date is roughly six months before the general election, and “falls after most of the Republican presidential primaries which will largely wrap up on March 12 and before the Republican national convention is scheduled for July 15-18,” according to Breitbart News.

Cannon noted in her ruling that “the Government’s proposed schedule is atypically accelerated and inconsistent with ensuring a fair trial” — pointing out the vast quantities of documents and information to go through in such a short time.

“As it stands, the Government’s timeline spans less than six months from the first discovery production (June 21, 2023) to trial in a CIPA case involving, at the very least, more than 1.1 million pages of non-classified discovery produced thus far (some unknown quantity of which is described by the Government as ‘non-content’), at least nine months of camera footage (with disputes about pertinent footage), at least 1,545 pages of classified discovery ready to be produced (with more to follow), plus additional content from electronic devices and other sources yet to be turned over,” she wrote in her ruling.

Trump, who is currently the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary, responded to the judge’s decision in a statement.

“Today’s order by Judge Cannon is a major setback to the DOJ’s crusade to deny President Trump a fair legal process,” the statement read. “The extensive schedule allows President Trump and his legal team to continue fighting this empty hoax. Crooked Joe Biden is losing and attempting to use his weaponized DOJ against his top political rival — a disgraceful and un-American abuse of power. Crooked Joe will fail and President Trump will win back the White House for the American people.”

While Trump and his team appear to be celebrating the decision, many conservatives have expressed concern about the timeline on social media.

“Judge Aileen Cannon just gave the Dems everything they wanted by placing Trump’s document trial in the heart of campaign season,” Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk argued in a tweet, sharing a detailed timeline of election season and the trial.

“Barring any future delays, it is conceivable that Trump—the top opposition candidate to the current Regime—could be tried, convicted, and in prison before Election Day,” Kirk added.

“This date is in the middle of primary season. The whole operation is totally political,” tweeted Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), sharing a video clip of himself commenting on the matter on Fox News.

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