Judge in Trump's classified documents case expected to set trial date during crucial hearing

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the classified documents prosecution of Donald Trump is expected to set a trial date on Friday, a crucial decision that could affect whether the former president and leading Republican candidate faces a jury this year on charges that he hoarded top secret records and hid them from government investigators.

The trial, in federal court in Fort Pierce, Fla., is currently set for May 20. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has already postponed multiple dates in the case and signaled that she would revisit the trial date during a pivotal hearing on Friday.

Ahead of the hearing, federal prosecutors on Thursday requested a July 8 trial date. Defense lawyers said there was no way to hold a fair trial this year at a time when Trump is looking to clinch the Republican presidential nomination but nonetheless proposed Aug. 12 as a possible date to begin jury selection.

The trial date has taken on added significance in light of the uncertainty surrounding a separate federal case in Washington charging Trump with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The Supreme Court said this week that it would hear arguments in late April on whether Trump as a former president is immune from prosecution, leaving it unclear whether that case — also brought by special counsel Jack Smith — might reach trial before the November election.