Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to face trial in May of next year on 37 federal charges related to the alleged illegal storage of hundreds of secret documents after leaving office.
Prosecutors claim that he kept boxes of documents at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, including sensitive information on nuclear weapons, foreign militaries, and CIA operations, which he reportedly showed to guests at his golf club.
Trump’s legal team had requested the trial to be postponed until after the November election, citing protections that shield a sitting president from prosecution.
However, Florida judge Eileen Cannon, appointed by Trump himself, has set the jury trial for May 20, 2024.
In addition to this trial, another one concerning alleged “hush money” payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels is scheduled for a New York court in March.
Despite the legal challenges, Trump remains the leading candidate for the Republican Party, with an increasing polling lead over rivals Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence.
He has vehemently criticized the charges as a “travesty of justice” and likened his treatment to that of authoritarian regimes in Russia and China.
