By
After Donald Trump was arraigned in federal court on Tuesday for his first federal indictment, questions of timing dominate the case like no other as the 2024 election — which could put him back in the White House — inches closer.
So, what’s next?
With the usual caveat that this is all unprecedented and no one really knows until it happens, the answer to that question could be fairly mundane: Getting the co-defendant, Waltine Nauta, arraigned. Remember, though Nauta appeared alongside Trump in court on Tuesday, he wasn’t arraigned because he didn’t have a lawyer admitted to the Florida district where the case is charged. The question arose ahead of Tuesday whether Trump would have a proper legal team in place, but turns out Nauta wasn’t ready for prime time. His arraignment is set for June 27.
So we may need to wait a beat to see how Judge Aileen Cannon begins to handle the case — and, as we saw on Tuesday, it doesn’t look like the Trump appointee who erroneously ruled for her appointer during previous litigation in the matter plans on recusing. An early sign to watch for is what sort of schedule Cannon lays out for motions and, of course, any trial date that she sets. Trump’s state trial in New York on charges of falsifying business records is set for March 2024.
I’m sure that special counsel Jack Smith, who spoke few words in announcing the indictment but "speedy trial" was among them, would love to try this case before then. Indeed, on “Deadline: White House” on Tuesday, Brandon Van Grack, a national security lawyer and former Justice Department prosecutor on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, said the DOJ could bring this case by the end of the year.
I don’t doubt that they could — all things being equal. But they’re not equal. Trump is a former president running for office, Cannon is a wildcard, and this national security case involves sensitive evidence that requires additional litigation.
It’s that classified evidence and related litigation that could set in motion an early phase of this case and give a clue to how it proceeds overall. That’s because we could see prosecutors attempting to get the ball rolling on the sensitive evidence issue by seeking a conference with Cannon on the subject. How she responds to processing this classified material could offer a sense of how she’ll handle the case going forward.
Meanwhile, without any real pretrial restrictions on his movements, Trump is free to continue his presidential campaign, whose success could scuttle the indictment upon which he was just arraigned, as well as any further federal charges that come. (Presidents can't pardon state crimes.)
But for now, we’ll be keeping our eyes on the docket in United States v. Trump (and Nauta).
Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Blog newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump investigations and more.