Federal judge hints at delaying Trump classified documents case until after election

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon on Wednesday expressed openness to delaying former President Donald Trump's classified documents case until after the 2024 presidential election.

Trump has sought to delay the case amid both the election and the litany of other cases against him scheduled for that year. Trump faces a March 4 trial in special counsel Jack Smith's other case against him involving his election challenge. Those proceedings could conceivably overlap with the documents case.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, did not directly announce a trial delay, but said she would make "reasonable adjustments" to the court schedule during a Wednesday hearing, Politico reported.

"I'm just having a hard time seeing how realistically this work can be accomplished in this compressed period of time, given the realities that we're facing," she said.

Scheduled for May 20, Cannon has expressed concerns that the trial would not be able to follow the initial schedule she set due to complications arising from the sensitive nature of the documents relevant to the case.

The May trial stems from special counsel Jack Smith's original indictments of Trump alleging that he improperly removed classified materials from the White House. Smith's appointment and prosecution followed the FBI raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in August of 2022.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.