Judge Cannon hands Trump another legal victory with pause in classified documents case

Judge Aileen Cannon has handed Donald Trump another legal win in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

The former president's legal team had asked the federal judge to delay his trial in that case until after the 2024 election due to delays in creating a secure facility for him to view the documents, and Cannon granted a temporary stay while she decides whether to push back the pre-trial schedule, reported The Guardian's Hugo Lowell.

Trump's lawyers argued their defense is being stymied by a three-month delay in setting up a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, in the Fort Pierce, Florida, courthouse where Cannon presides. The facility provides a safe place to view highly classified information.

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Cannon ordered a SCIF to be built on an expedited timetable in July, and construction is expected to take about three months to complete.

Special counsel Jack Smith's office had not opposed a short delay for Trump's deadline under the Classified Information Procedures Act, but Cannon instead granted an indefinite stay.

The trial is currently scheduled to begin in May.