U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted a partial halt in the classified documents case against Donald Trump on Saturday, a day after his legal team asked for a pause in proceedings due to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Trump had argued that his decision to move documents to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach before he left the White House in January 2021 was an “official act” and therefore immune to prosecution under the new U.S. Supreme Court ruling that applies to past, present and future presidents.
In an order Saturday, Cannon indefinitely postponed several imminent deadlines:
- expert disclosures, which were originally due July 8
- defense disclosures to prosecutors through discovery, which were due July 10
- a submission on the Classified Information Procedures Act by Special Counsel Jack Smith that was due July 10, “although the Special Counsel may proceed with filing should it so elect,” Cannon wrote.
Trump’s team asked Friday for Cannon to bring everything to a halt except for a motion by Smith to change the conditions of Trump’s pretrial release by restricting his public remarks about federal agents and their search for documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The defense also asked Cannon to set hearings for the two sides to argue over the application the Supreme Court’s immunity decision to the Florida case.
The 10-page filing on Friday seized on the concurring opinion by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas, who wrote that lower federal courts should closely examine the validity of the appointments of special counsels such as Smith. It was a timely opinion that squares neatly with Trump’s argument that Smith’s appointment was illegal because he was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The issue was the subject of two days of hearing before Cannon in late June. She has yet to rule.
“Resolution of these threshold questions is necessary to minimize the adverse consequences to the institution of the Presidency arising from this unconstitutional investigation and prosecution,” wrote Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise.
Smith must reply to Trump’s motion to pause proceedings and request for further briefing on the immunity decision by July 18. Any further reply is due July 21, Cannon ordered.
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