Justice Department fights Trump effort to push Mar-a-Lago trial until after 2024 election

The Justice Department is fighting an effort by former President Trump to delay his documents case until after the 2024 election, pushing back on claims the government hasn’t done its part to provide access to evidence.

A recent motion seeking to delay the process through a law governing the handling of classified records in court “was but a precursor to a motion to continue the trial date,” special counsel Jack Smith’s office wrote in the Monday court filing.

“None of the issues raised in the defendants’ motion warrants the continuance they request.”

The request from Trump’s team last week comes amid complaints from his legal team about the amount of classified evidence they’ve been able to review in the case, as well as their workload, as they manage numerous indictments filed against the former president. They asked to delay the case until “at least mid-November 2024.”

The attorneys say they have yet to get access to all classified evidence underpinning charges in a superseding indictment that accused Trump of an additional Espionage Act charge and of trying to delete security camera footage from his Florida home.

Trump’s team also complains that it “only has access to a small, temporary facility in Miami” to view the highly classified records. It must visit the facility in person while managing hearing dates for Trump’s trial on allegations he sought to block the transfer of power after losing the 2020 election.

But the special counsel’s office said Trump’s team is exaggerating its struggles.

“Reports, transcripts, and recordings of interviews with potential witnesses—essentially, the blueprint of the Government’s case-in-chief—have been made available within days of arraignment for all defendants, even though the Court’s scheduling order authorizes the Government to delay production of such materials until just before trial,” they wrote.

“In no way does the government’s record of unclassified discovery production in this case support a continuance.”

The government said delays in accessing some documents are due to the highly sensitive nature of the documents.

“To be sure, the extreme sensitivity of the special measures documents that Trump illegally retained at Mar-a-Lago presents logistical issues unique to this case. But the defendants’ allegations that those logistical impediments are the fault of the [special counsel’s office] are wrong,” the government notes, adding that Trump’s team has been able to view them in Washington, D.C., versus Florida.

The argument comes after Trump’s team was complaining about traveling between D.C. and Florida to manage the former president’s two federal prosecutions. 

In Florida, Trump is facing 32 counts for violation of the Espionage Act for mishandling records, as well as numerous other charges relating to obstruction of justice in blocking their return to authorities.