Judge Aileen Cannon has set the trial date for the DOJ’s classified documents case against Donald Trump, and it’s scrambling expectations.

Despite legal experts previously suggesting the trial would likely take place sometime in 2025, Cannon has set the state date for August 14th, 2023. She’s also ordered that all pre-trial motions be completed in July (CNBC).

A Florida federal judge on Tuesday scheduled the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump for his alleged illegal retention of classified government documents to begin Aug. 14.

(…)In her order Tuesday, Judge Aileen Cannon told Department of Justice prosecutors and lawyers for Trump to file all pre-trial motions by July 24. Cannon also ordered that all hearings in the case, including the trial, will be held in U.S. District Court in Fort Pierce, Florida.

The obvious (and likely correct) response to this is that the trial will still not start in August of 2023, but it seems as if Cannon is trying to expedite the timeline. Even if the trial gets delayed six months to a year, you could see it take place at the beginning of the primaries or just months prior to the general election.

Just how quickly things are resolved will depend on how aggressively Cannon handles things. You’d expect numerous motions that normally delay things, often agreed upon by the prosecution and the defense. Will she force the issue because of the sensitive nature of the case, especially dealing with the handling of the various documents in question? That’s yet to be seen.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more details.