Judge sets May 2024 trial date for Donald Trump in documents case

A federal judge ordered Friday that the trial in the classified documents case that special counsel Jack Smith brought against former President Donald Trump begin in mid-May 2024.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon scheduled jury selection to begin on May 14 at the federal courthouse in Ft. Pierce, Florida. She said a two-week trial period would then begin on May 20.

If that timeline holds, then the trial would fall deep in the 2024 race for the White House, coming ahead of multiple GOP presidential primaries. It would be a rebuke to Trump and his legal team, who wanted to postpone the trial until after the general election takes place in November 2024.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.