Quote:Judge Aileen Cannon has set a trial date in the Biden DOJ's case against President Donald Trump for May 20, 2024. This is months after the DOJ's requested start date in December 2023, and months ahead of Trump's attorney's requested start date in late November 2024.

Cannon heard from the prosecution and the defense on Tuesday, and expressed skepticism with the Justice Department's accelerated proposed trial timeline. She noted that in addition to the many documents to review, some 1.1 million pages, and the 9 months of surveillance tapes. At the time, she said she would issue a ruling on the timeline "promptly."

The Department of Justice is charging Trump with multiple counts under the Espionage Act, while Trump's attorneys have repeatedly cited the Presidential Records Act, which gives presidents the authority to determine what records in their possession are personal and which are best suited for the National Archives.

One of the key questions in the procedure of the case is how the documents will be viewed to be in accordance with the Classified Information Procedures Act, and how to assure security clearances.

The DOJ claims that Trump is guilty of "obstruction of justice" after claiming that Trump interfered with documents in his possession that were under a DOJ subpoena. Trump asserts fully that any documents that remained in his possession after his term as president were rightfully in his possession.

This is the first time in US history that a president or former president has been tried on criminal charges, and it comes amid two other cases in which Trump is facing prosecution. He is also being charged with 31 felony counts of falsification of business records in New York City, a charge that is actually a misdemeanor.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has bumped it to a felony, claiming that the misdemeanors were committed in service to secondary crimes. He has declined to state what those crimes are.

The charges of falsification of business records stem from Bragg's claim that payment Trump made to his lawyers and recorded in bookkeeping records as "legal fees" were not actually legal fees but intended as payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to hush up a dalliance the two are alleged to have had.

The Department of Justice is also seeking to prosecute Trump for charges related to the Capitol riot of January 6, though the full spate of charges has not been released. There are reportedly three statutes under which he will be charged. Trump revealed earlier this week that he was identified as a "target" by the DOJ, which he learned about via a letter.

The case will be a jury trial and will take place in Florida.