Judge Aileen Cannon granted a temporary delay in former President Donald Trump’s classified documents trial in Florida to consider the ramifications of the Supreme Court’s sweeping immunity ruling earlier this week.
The Trump appointee agreed to the former president’s legal team’s request Saturday afternoon, imposing a two-week delay for three pending deadlines in the case. Trump’s team made the request Friday, arguing that the Supreme Court’s immunity decision had to be considered and they should be allowed to argue the merits before the trial moves forward.
Cannon imposed a July 18 deadline for special counsel Jack Smith’s team to respond to the motion to stay and a July 21 deadline for any other reply.
Saturday’s order was only a partial victory for Trump, whose team requested the entire case, except for a pending dispute over a gag order, be put on pause in order to brief Cannon on the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Cannon moved the July 8 deadline for Trump’s teams Rule 16 expert disclosures; a discovery deadline of July 10; and the July 10 deadline for Smith’s teams CIPA §§ 5-6 submission.
“Resolution of these threshold questions is necessary to minimize the adverse consequences to the institution of the Presidency arising from this unconstitutional investigation and prosecution,” Trump’s attorneys wrote on Friday.