And they'll be screaming bloody murder about it as a Democratic ploy.The criminal trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort appears likely to start in September at the earliest after a federal judge on Tuesday rejected a bid by special counsel Robert Mueller's office to kick off the trial in May.
The timeline emerging from an hourlong hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson raises the possibility that Manafort and colleague Rick Gates could go on trial at the height of the midterm campaign season, making an already unwelcome distraction for the White House and Republicans even more uncomfortable.
Politico
Jackson indicated that with hundreds of thousands of documents and electronic files turned over to the defense as recently as Friday, it was unrealistic to proceed with the May 14 trial date prosecutors proposed last week.
[...]
Prosecutor Kyle Freeny told the judge that "the bulk" of the relevant information in the government's possession has been turned over, but Jackson suggested the government needs to complete the task.
"Other than things that are still coming in, there's no excuse for not producing what you have," the judge said.
[...]
Jackson set another hearing on Feb. 14 for scheduling, at which time she could set a trial date. She also set a hearing for April 17 to take up defense motions aimed at knocking out some or all of the government's charges.
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