Legal experts say a trial in the case of former President Donald Trump’s handling of allegedly classified documents may not happen until after the 2024 presidential election — which could work in the former president’s favor.
“I don’t see how it gets to trial before the November election,” legal expert and former Assistant Attorney General Andrew McCarthy said on a National Review podcast on Friday.
According to McCarthy and an article in the Washington Post published Monday, the use of classified information during a trial is governed by a law called the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA).
He said in a classified information case, lawyers litigate before the trial what classified information is admissible in a case. Both the prosecution and the defense must share with the government what classified information they intend to use.
McCarthy said the defense “always claims that they need more, not because they really think it’s exculpatory, but because they know the government doesn’t want to reveal it. And they try to make a record that they were prevented from making their defense.”