Judge sets spring trial date for classified docs case in blow to Trump's quest for indefinite delay

A federal judge has dealt a blow to former President Donald Trump's push to indefinitely delay his classified documents trial.

The former president will now stand trial in May of next year on charges that he mishandled classified material, according to a court filing Friday.

Judge Aileen Cannon scheduled the trial for May 20, a compromise date later than prosecutors had sought but sooner than the indefinite delay requested by Trump.

Trump's attorneys had argued that the extraordinary nature of the case meant there should be no reason to expedite the trial, while prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office contended there was no reason for a delay.

"There is no basis in law or fact for proceeding in such an indeterminate and open-ended fashion, and the Defendants provide none," prosecutor David Harbach wrote in his filing.