The website Law & Crime reported last week that attorneys for former President Donald Trump asked federal Judge Aileen Cannon to schedule his classified documents trial after the 2024 election.
The request didn't go over well with Special Counsel Jack Smith, who lashed out at the former president's legal team in a motion filed this week.
At issue is the claim that Smith is responsible for "ongoing discovery failures" which make it impossible for Trump to mount a proper defense.
Law & Crime quoted defense lawyers Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche as referencing the "accelerated schedule that the prosecutors have not followed and that in all likelihood will require multiple rounds of CIPA litigation."
Law & Crime noted that CIPA refers to the Classified Information Procedures Act, a piece of legislation which governs the rules of discovery for cases involving classified documents.
Further, the attorneys noted that Kise is facing "scheduling challenges" given that he is also defending Trump in his New York civil fraud trial as well as a Washington, D.C. criminal case concerning the 2020 election.
"[Kise] has therefore had no opportunity to review any of the CIPA materials or to participate in the preparation of the defense," the brief maintained.
"President Trump should not be denied the assistance of core counsel in a matter of this significance due to the Government’s delayed discovery process," it added.
However, Law & Crime reported that Smith shot back with a filing of his own on Monday which asserted that complaints by the defense are "distorted and exaggerated."
"To be sure, the extreme sensitivity of the special measures documents that Trump illegally retained at Mar-a-Lago presents logistical issues unique to this case," Smith acknowledged.
"But the defendants' allegations that those logistical impediments are the fault of the SCO (Special Counsel's Office) are wrong," he continued.
The special counsel went on to declare that Smith said that Trump has benefited from "extensive, prompt, and well-organized unclassified discovery, yielding an exhaustive roadmap of proof of the detailed allegations in the superseding indictment."
"The vast majority of classified discovery is also available to the defendants. For a small fraction of the discovery that is among the most highly classified material, certain enhanced security protocols have raised additional obstacles to full access," Smith maintained.
The special counsel went on to state that the former president's lawyers have offered "no credible justification to postpone a trial that is still seven months away."
