What happens next in the Trump documents case?
Send a link to a friend
[June 14, 2023]
By Jack Queen
(Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on
Tuesday to federal criminal charges that he unlawfully kept
national-security documents when he left office and lied to officials
who sought to recover them.
Here is what to expect as the case proceeds.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
It could be a year or more before a trial takes place.
Trump's plea, entered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman in a
federal court in Miami, sets up a legal battle likely to play out for
months while he seeks to win back the presidency in a November 2024
election.
Trump was allowed to leave court without conditions or travel
restrictions and no cash bond was required. Goodman ruled that he was
not allowed to communicate with potential witnesses in the case.
Trump's aide Walt Nauta, who is also charged in the case, appeared
alongside Trump but will not have to enter a plea until June 27 because
he does not have a local lawyer. He, too, was released without having to
post bond and was ordered not to talk to other witnesses.
Federal prosecutors can be expected to begin handing over evidence to
Trump’s lawyers. That could include years of correspondence between
Trump’s lawyers, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
and prosecutors as they haggled over the documents.
At some point, Trump's lawyers are expected to file a motion to dismiss
the case for a variety of reasons, including perhaps his claim he
declassified the documents before taking them.
They are also likely to argue the case should be tossed for what they
allege was misconduct by prosecutors, including alleged violations of a
legal doctrine that permits people to keep communications with their
lawyers private.
Motions to dismiss in criminal cases are standard but rarely succeed
because defendants face a high burden convincing a judge that their case
is too flawed to even go before a jury.
Prosecutors are also entitled to the benefit of the doubt on their
factual allegations at that stage.
WHAT IMPACT WILL THE CASE HAVE ON TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN?
The charges include violations of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to
obstruct justice and making false statements to investigators.
None of those would automatically prevent Trump from campaigning or
taking office if he is convicted. His legal woes have not hurt his
standing with Republican voters.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday showed that Trump still led
rivals for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election
by a wide margin, and that 81% of Republican voters viewed the charges
as politically motivated.
[to top of second column]
|
A sticker depicting former U.S.
President Trump is put on a car window, during a rally at Tropical
Park, as he is to appear in a federal court on classified document
charges, in Miami, Florida, U.S., June 11, 2023. REUTERS/Marco Bello
Most of Trump's Republican presidential rivals have lined up behind
him and accuse the FBI of political bias, in a sharp turn from the
party's traditional support for law enforcement.
Trump has used legal cases and investigations he faces as
fundraising tools, telling supporters that he is under attack and
needs their help.
WHEN WILL THE CASE GO TO TRIAL?
Any potential trial could be many months away even though Special
Counsel Jack Smith, heading the prosecution, has said Trump will
have a "speedy" trial.
Trump, who has denied wrongdoing and calls the case a politically
motivated “witch hunt,” has a right to face trial within 100 days,
but that rarely happens in complex cases. The parties will likely
agree to extend deadlines as they pore over evidence and argue legal
disputes before a judge.
WILL TRUMP TESTIFY?
That would be up to him. Criminal defendants are not required to
testify and rarely do because subjecting themselves to
cross-examination by prosecutors is risky. Trump did not testify at
a recent civil trial over sex abuse and defamation claims brought
against him by writer E. Jean Carroll. A jury found Trump liable in
that case in May.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CASE IF TRUMP WINS THE ELECTION?
It is unlikely the prosecution will proceed if Trump wins the 2024
presidential election.
The U.S. Department of Justice is part of the executive branch, and
presidents are the top federal law enforcement officers in the
country. Federal prosecutors generally serve at their pleasure.
The Justice Department has a decades-old policy that a sitting
president cannot be prosecuted. The department can deviate from
policy in “extraordinary circumstances” with the approval of the
U.S. attorney general, the country’s top law enforcement official.
A lame-duck attorney general serving under President Joe Biden, in
this case Merrick Garland, could ignore that policy and forge ahead,
but Trump, as president, could fire him and hire an acting
replacement of his choice before naming a permanent successor
subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.
(Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard
Goller)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |