Trump pretrial hearing about classified documents in Florida lasts almost 2 hours. Judge to issue ruling 'promptly'

Pretrial hearings for former President Donald Trump’s federal criminal trial began Tuesday at the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse on U.S. 1 at Orange Avenue.

The 2 p.m. hearing assessed how documents containing sensitive information would be handled and presented at trial and discussion of a trial date. Lawyers for Trump and codefendant Waltine “Walt” Nauta, his valet, attended the hearing.

Trump and Nauta were indicted on 37 and six counts, respectively, related to the mishandling of classified documents June 8 in Miami. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Tuesday’s hearing: Here’s what we know in advance

Trump was not at the hearing, but his valet and codefendant Nauta attended with his lawyers.

This is the first hearing in the United States v. Donald Trump and Waltine Nauta trial, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon presiding.

3:50 p.m.: Hearing ends, no rulings issued

Cannon did not issue any rulings today, following a nearly two-hour hearing. She said she’ll be issuing a written ruling “promptly.”

Trump attorney Todd Blanche urged Cannon to not set a trial date, but suggested if she must, to delay the trial until mid-November 2024 — after the presidential election.

3 p.m.: 'Hoping to catch a glimpse’ of Trump

Lynn Rowe, 68, of Fort Pierce, was parked behind the courthouse early Tuesday afternoon in an effort to see Trump.

“I was just hoping to catch a glimpse,” she said.

Trump, however, was not expected to attend the hearing. He was scheduled to be in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a televised town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Rowe said she’d been there for a few minutes but had circled around about three times to see if she could see anything.

“I think this is a great place to have it because you won’t have as many people as you would in Miami,” she said.

2 p.m.: Trump/Nauta pretrial hearing scheduled to begin

The hearing is scheduled to begin inside the U.S. courthouse in Fort Pierce. Electronic devices are not permitted inside. Information coming from the courtroom will be sparse. There will be fewer updates here, but information will be posted when we receive it.

1:50 p.m.: Fort Pierce attorney Sasha Dadan, representing Nauta, arrives

Attorney Sasha Dadan, of Fort Pierce, represents Nauta, who is charged in the indictment with Trump. Nauta was indicted on six criminal counts related to the mishandling of classified documents. He is behind her in the car.

1:20 p.m.: Attorneys arriving for Trump pretrial hearing in Fort Pierce

Some of former President Donald Trump’s team of attorneys arrive on U.S. 1 in front of the courthouse. The hearing, beginning at 2 p.m., is about how sensitive classified documents found in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate will be handled at trial. A trial date also will be discussed.

12:30 p.m.: Entry into Alto Lee Adams Sr. Courthouse in Fort Pierce begins

12:15 p.m.: Ron DeSantis says Trump should not be criminally charged

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump’s top rivals for the Republican presidential ticket, said in South Carolina that the former president should have done more to stop the Jan. 6 Capitol riot but questioned whether his actions were criminal.

“Criminal charges is not just because you may have done something wrong, it’s did you behave criminally, and I think what we’ve seen in this country is an attempt to criminalize politics and to try to criminalize differences,” DeSantis said.

11:55 a.m.: Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson calls on Trump to suspend campaign

Asa Hutchinson, who is running for the Republican nomination for president, called on Trump to suspend his campaign after the former president said he was a target in the investigation into the deadly riot on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.

11:20 a.m.: Fort Pierce traffic unrestricted around federal courthouse

11:05 a.m.: Trump leads big in GOP voter polls, but overall 'unfavorable’ rating rising

A major focus of today’s hearing will be timing for a trial, which is still slated to begin Aug. 14. Federal prosecutors have asked for a delay until Dec. 11, while Trump’s lawyers have asked the judge to delay the proceedings indefinitely because of the voluminous evidence, and that he can’t get a fair trial while campaigning for president in 2024.

Trump’s request comes as polls continue to show him with gaping leads over rival Republicans for the party’s 2024 nomination.

Over the weekend, Trump hailed his straw poll win at the Turning Point USA conference in West Palm Beach in a social media post in which he cited results giving him 85.7% of votes.

But while GOP voter surveys show him as a clear favorite, general polls show him losing favor with the overall U.S. population. The political website FiveThirtyEight now registers Trump with a 56.3% unfavorable rating against a 40% favorable rating.

The 16.3 percentage point gap has been widening since Trump was first indicted in New York on charges related to a hush-money payment to an adult film actress in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election. The difference between his favorable and unfavorable ratings is up 4.2 points, or 33%, since March 1.

10:15 a.m.: Trump says he’s a ‘target’

Donald Trump says he is a “target” of the Jan. 6 criminal investigation, predicting an arrest and an indictment.

10 a.m.: Security visible in Fort Pierce around Alto Lee Adams Sr. Courthouse

Two federal protective service vehicles arrive on U.S. 1 in front of the courthouse.

9:40 a.m.: Heading to Trump pretrial hearing?

Peacocks are commonly seen in Fort Pierce. This one has a destination in mind.

9 a.m.: Trump expects Judge Cannon will 'do the right thing’

Cannon will again be under a microscope during today’s court proceeding. Among those scrutinizing her every word and action, besides legal scholars, will be the defendant and former president himself.

The judge was one of the last jurists named to the federal bench by Trump during his lone term in the White House, and the former president this week served thinly veiled notice of what he expects in return.

In an interview on Fox News with host Maria Bartiromo, Trump said Cannon “is a highly-respected judge, a very smart judge, and a very strong judge,” when asked if he thought Cannon would agree to his legal motions in the case.

Trump then added: “I'm very proud to have appointed her. She’s very smart and very strong. And loves our country, I mean, loves our country. We need judges that love our country, so they do the right thing.”

8:50 a.m.: No electronics allowed in federal courthouse in Fort Pierce

While most criminal and civil cases in Florida can be photographed or televised, federal court cases cannot. Cameras, broadcasting equipment, audio recording, laptops and even tweeting are forbidden.

Reporters and members of the media attending the hearing were not allowed to bring any electronics into the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce Tuesday morning ahead of registering with security to gain access to the hearing.

Court officials on Monday banned all cell phones and electronics from the courthouse.

8:40 a.m.: Law enforcement gathers to keep Fort Pierce streets secure

About a dozen officers, mostly Fort Pierce police, get coffee and breakfast at Mervis Cafe before heading to the courthouse.

8:25 a.m.: Line starts for Trump hearing in Fort Pierce

Media began lining up outside the courthouse about 7 a.m. for registration that began at 8 a.m. All media members who registered were told to return at noon to gather in a jury assembly room. At 1 p.m., court officials will read off the names of the first 10 to 15 people who registered and they will be escorted into Cannon’s courtroom ahead of the 2 p.m. hearing. Remaining media personnel will remain in the jury assembly room until the hearing ends.

There appear to be three tents on the east side of U.S. 1 across from the courthouse where media entities have gathered.

8 a.m.: Fort Pierce quiet hours before Trump pretrial hearing

Downtown Fort Pierce is business as usual six hours before the pretrial hearing gets underway. Some signs welcome the former president, although he is not expected to be at the hearing.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Recap of Trump pretrial hearing on Mar-a-Lago docs in Fort Pierce