Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Trial Ploy Slapped Down by Government

Prosecutors have strongly rejected Donald Trump's attempts to have his classified documents case indefinitely delayed.

In documents submitted to a Florida court, Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith and his team say that Trump's legal team has been "misrepresenting" how much disclosure the government has made to the defense.

They ask Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, to deny Trump's request for an indefinite delay in the case, in which Trump is accused of hoarding classified federal documents in his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

"The defendants' motion for an indefinite extension should be denied," it states.
Trump's lawyers had submitted a motion asking for an indefinite delay in the case because of a lack of government disclosure in the case.

The prosecutors' response accuses Trump's lawyers of attempting to delay the case because they know that there is a deadline of October 20, 2023, for the defense to make any more discovery requests.

"The Government has complied with (and exceeded) its discovery obligations to date, the defense has demonstrated that they are fully equipped to file a motion to compel any unclassified discovery they seek," the government submission states.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's legal team via email for comment.

The submission adds that the government "does not oppose a 10-day extension of the deadline to file a motion to compel classified discovery given the complications surrounding defense access to classified discovery that have now been resolved."

That's a reference to the extraordinary security protocols that have to be put in place so that Trump's lawyers can view the classified documents allegedly seized from Mar-a-Lago.

Last week, Newsweek reported that the government is preparing a secure room at a secret location in South Florida so that Trump's lawyers can review the documents.

As it is ultra-classified material, the government is arranging special couriers from the intelligence community to bring the documents to the Trump lawyers and return them to their original location afterward.

Government lawyers told Judge Cannon last week that they expect the secure room to be ready by the end of last week, but they will not disclose its location.

The prosecutors' latest submission recognizes that a brief delay may be required because of the extra security that had to be put in place.

It said the defense motion "fails to disclose the Government's position during conferral on this motion, in which the Government agreed to a brief continuance of the deadline for any motions to compel classified discovery."

It also said it "misrepresents the record regarding the production of classified and unclassified discovery" and "disregards their own demonstrated ability to formulate requests for additional unclassified discovery."

According to government submissions in court, prosecutors have already handed over one million pages of documents to the Trump legal team, including many of the classified documents themselves, details of CCTV footage and other security documents relating to searches of Mar-a-Lago.

Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara said this week that Trump is trying to delay his two federal criminal trials so that he can exonerate himself if reelected president and that Trump likely has three options to avoid his two federal trials: pardoning himself, appointing a favorable attorney general, or claiming federal immunity.

Speaking on his podcast Stay Tuned With Preet, Bharara said that just as the Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to a speedy trial, the public and the government should also expect a speedy trial, free from unnecessary delays.

He said "time is ticking" in Trump's two federal cases, and it might not be possible to prosecute the former president if he is reelected next year. The other federal case, taken in Washington, D.C., relates to his alleged tampering with the 2020 presidential election. Trump has denied all charges in both cases.