Multiple hearings held on Friday could have major implications for former President Donald Trump as he continues to presidential campaign.
The first hearing pertained to Trump allegedly keeping classified documents after his presidency. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon heard arguments from both sides in a Florida courtroom for more than five hours over the expected trial start date of May 20.
Trump’s attorneys argued that holding the trial before the election would be “unfair” to the former president due to the number of events he had planned leading up to the election.
“We very much continue to believe that a trial that takes place before the election is a mistake and should not happen,” said Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, per ABC News.
Blanche also said that the defense would propose an August start date but that any closer to the election in November would be detrimental because the campaign would be “in full swing” come September.
“If there were no election…we still wouldn’t be ready for this trial,” he said, per CNN. “There’s no reason this trial can’t start until late November.”
Prosecutors pushed back on these claims, as Jay Bratt, who works in the special counsel’s office, claimed that the defense was “trying to wring out of the court” through various unnecessary hearings.
“This case can be tried this summer,” he said, per ABC News.
The prosecutors proposed a July 8 start date, but Cannon ended the hearing before an official start date was determined.
The second hearing held on Friday was about whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from Trump’s election interference case due to her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
In a three-hour hearing, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee heard arguments about Willis’ potential disqualification, with Trump’s attorneys arguing that the district attorney improperly benefitted from her relationship.
“She put her boyfriend in the spot, paid him, and then reaped the benefits from it,” said defense attorney John Merchant, per CBS News. “She created the system and then didn’t tell anyone about it.”
Merchant continued by claiming that the public would be unable to trust the decisions made by Willis’ office if her actions were overlooked.
“If this court allows this kind of behavior to go on and allows DAs across the state by its order to engage in these kinds of activities, the entire public confidence in the system will be shot, and the integrity of the system will be undermined,” argued Merchant, as reported by CBS News.
Adam Abbate, an attorney who works in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, argued against the assertions and said the questions the defense asked Willis were solely meant to “embarrass and harass” the district attorney as well as “impugn her character,” per The Washington Post.
Abbate also claimed that the allegations presented by the defense were “a desperate attempt to remove a prosecutor from a case for absolutely no reason, other than harassment and embarrassment,” per The New York Times.
McAfee ended the hearing without making a decision, noting that it was “clear by the argument made today there are several legal issues to sort through.”
“I will be taking the time to make sure I give this case the full consideration it is due. I hope to have an answer for everyone within the next two weeks,” concluded the judge, per NBC News.
