Trump lawyers ask for extension in ‘extraordinary case’ of Mar-a-Lago seized documents

Trump's legal team suggested that they may need upwards of a year to be ready for the case, hinting that they would like to see it pushed back until after the 2024 election. Judge Aileen Cannon of the US District Court in West Palm Beach had initially wanted to begin the trial in August, but pushe the start date back to December 11 to give the defense time to prepare.

In their response to the offer, Trump's lawyers pointed out that they would need much more time than was being proposed.

"This extraordinary case presents a serious challenge to both the fact and perception of our American democracy," they wrote. "The Court now presides over a prosecution advanced by the administration of a sitting President against his chief political rival, himself a leading candidate for the Presidency of the United States."

"Therefore," they continued, "a measured consideration and timeline that allows for a careful and complete review of the procedures that led to this indictment and the unprecedented legal issues presented herein best serves the interests ofthe Defendants and the public."

Trump's lawyers argued that there was "no reason for any expedited trial," adding that there had never been a case regarding the intersection of the presidential Records Act and numerous criminal statutes involved in Trump's charges.

They noted that as a result, "the volume ofdiscovery and the CIPA logistics alone make plain that the Government's requested schedule is unrealistic."

Trump was indicted in June on 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of withholding a document or record, one count of corruptly concealing a document or record, one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation, one count of scheme to conceal, and one count of false statements and representations.

The former president has called the charges "bullsh*t," and many agree that it's nothing more than a political prosecution.