FORT PIERCE, Fla. — U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to hear from federal prosecutors and attorneys representing former President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused of mishandling sensitive government documents after he left the White House.
Trump’s attorneys and special counsel prosecutors are to discuss how they will handle the classified documents in the case and how they will be presented at trial.
Trump’s co-defendant Walt Nauta, who served as the former president’s aide, arrived at the courthouse ahead of the hearing with his defense attorneys Stan Woodward and Sasha Dadan.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, could also share new information about the timing of a trial, an issue that has divided both sides, with the Justice Department calling in a recent filing for the case to move “quickly.” “.
Defense attorneys have called for a postponement of the trial until after the 2024 presidential election, arguing that the scope of the indictment makes the timetable “untenable”.
“This extraordinary case presents a serious challenge both to the facts and to the perception of our American democracy,” the former president’s attorneys wrote in a recent filing. Trump is also the frontrunner in the polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, another complicating factor. Prosecutors dismissed the argument and instead asked Cannon to set a date for December.
Cannon could also ask if the charges presented by the government are final, potentially revealing new information about the possibility of a replacement indictment, which would allow new charges to be added.
The 2 p.m. hearing, at the Cannons Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Fla., a small seaside town about an hour from Palm Beach, is the first step in an unprecedented case in which Trump and Nauta pleaded not guilty. Trump is not expected to appear on Tuesday.
Trump faces more potential legal danger, with a separate grand jury investigation into an alleged effort to stop the transfer of power after the 2020 election pointing to another indictment.
Shortly before the hearing in Florida, Trump said in a Truth Social article that he received a target letter on Sunday giving him four days to respond to the grand jury if he wishes. The former president said the letter “almost always means an arrest and an indictment.”
Last month, Trump pleaded not guilty to a 37-count indictment for mishandling classified documents after leaving office, while Nauta, a Trump aide and former valet to the White House, pleaded not guilty to six counts.
Both were arraigned in federal court in Miami.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com