Stormy Daniels Case Could Help Donald Trump in Florida

Donald Trump’s Stormy Daniels trial will cause delays to his classified documents case in Florida, his lawyers have told a court.

Judge Aileen Cannon was informed in a filing that the latest scheduling for pre-trial hearings in the documents case put forward by the former president’s legal team was now impractical.

“The dates that we proposed to the Court, particularly in late May and early June 2024, are no longer workable for President Trump in light of the adjourned trial date,” states Wednesday’s filing by Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise.

The former president is facing 40 federal charges over his handling of sensitive materials retrieved from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House in January 2021. He is accused of obstructing efforts by federal authorities to return them. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Newsweek has contacted Trump’s attorney and the Southern Florida district of the federal courts via email for comment. The Southern District includes Aileen Cannon’s court.

Separately, Trump is facing trial in New York for allegedly paying two women—Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal—not to reveal his affairs with them before the 2016 presidential election.

The presumed Republican presidential nominee is also accused of making payments to a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed to know that Trump fathered a child with another woman. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges in the case and has repeatedly said it is part of a political witch hunt aimed at derailing his bid for the White House.

The chief prosecutor in the Florida case, Jack Smith, has repeatedly complained to Cannon that Trump’s lawyers are trying to delay the classified documents case until after the 2024 presidential election. Newsweek sough email comment from Smith on Thursday.

Newsweek has contacted Trump’s attorney via email for comment.

If elected president, Trump could appoint a favorable attorney general to drop the case or simply pardon himself.

Cannon has already had to rework the trial’s schedule because of arguments over the handling of highly classified documents Trump is alleged to have hoarded at his Florida estate.

Cannon was due to begin the trial in May but prosecutors now want it to start in July and Trump’s lawyers want it to begin in August.

In their submission, Kise and Blanche state that the Stormy Daniels trial in New York may affect Cannon’s consideration of the proposed schedules in the classified documents case.

They notified Cannon that the judge in the Stormy Daniels case in New York has scheduled jury selection for April 15.

“While the exact end date of any trial cannot be known with certainty, because of jury selection, religious observances, and the anticipated schedule of the trial, we anticipate President Trump will be on trial in People v. Trump from April 15, 2024, through the end of May 2024,” they wrote.

Trump’s lawyers had also delayed the Daniels case by a month so that they could review federal documents released by the prosecutors.

The trial was initially due to begin on March 25.

Wednesday’s filing states that, with a month delay in the Stormy Daniels case, their own proposed dates for pre-trial hearings will have to be reworked.

“As the Court is aware, the schedule in New York consists of jury trial Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from the start of the trial until its conclusion. President Trump will apprise the Court of any new information regarding further scheduling changes,” they add.