Former President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that the United States Department of Justice is not allowed to bring criminal cases against political candidates shortly before elections.
And now special counsel Jack Smith's team has slammed the door shut on that particular claim.
As reported by CNN's Paula Reid on Friday, Jay Bratt, the Chief of the Counterintelligence at the United States Department of Justice's National Security Division, told the court on Friday that the DOJ has no regulations stating that it must refrain from bringing criminal cases against defendants within 60 days of an election.
"The prosecutors gave us a very clear answer," Reid explained. "A few moments ago one of the special counsel prosecutors, Jay Bratt, said that policy does not apply to setting a trial date. He said, quote, 'We are in full compliance of that policy, that it does not apply to trial dates.' So this suggests that the special counsel would be open to bringing this to trial even as late as September or October... that is significant."
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Smith's team has requested a July 8th start date for the classified documents case, although Judge Aileen Cannon has signaled that she believes that might be too ambitious of a schedule.
Trump's team, meanwhile, has said that the case should be delayed until after the 2024 presidential election, although it has also said that holding the trial in August would be an acceptable alternative.
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Jack Smith's team signals it will take Trump to trial in October if necessarywww.youtube.com
