Judge Aileen Cannon has set a date for the trial in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump. The Trump-appointed judge has signed a court order listing the trial as starting on 14 August of this year in Fort Pierce, Florida. “This case is hereby set for a Criminal Jury Trial during the two-week period commencing August 14, 2023, or as soon thereafter as the case may be called,” the court order states. “Any change of plea must be taken prior to 5:00 p.m. on the last business day before trial is scheduled to begin,” it adds. The court order is likely to be challenged as motions are filed, including requests for the trial to be delayed. “All pre-trial motions and motions in limine must be filed by July 24, 2023,” the court order states. Scott MacFarlane of CBS News noted that “This timeline seems quite aspirational.. not likely to hold”. Judge Cannon appears to have created what’s called a “rocket docket” seemingly in an attempt to push the trial through the judicial system. Most federal trials take as long as a year as both parties prepare for the proceedings, The Daily Beast noted. Legal experts have previously indicated that Judge Cannon can be unpredictable and that she has ruled in favour of Mr Trump in the past after he appointed her shortly before leaving the White House. While overseeing Mr Trump’s challenge to the raid of his Mar-a-Lago estate last year, she added more red tape, slowing down the FBI probe. Former federal prosecutor Brandon Van Grack told The New York Times that the proposed trial date probably won’t stand as the discovery process of handing over classified evidence to the defence legal team hasn’t started yet. But he said that the date “signals that the court is at least trying to do everything it can to move the case along and that it’s important that the case proceed quickly”. “Even though it’s unlikely to hold, it’s at least a positive signal — positive in the sense that all parties and the public should want this case to proceed as quickly as possible,” he added. As Mr Trump struggles to retain lawyers to represent him, it’s unclear if the defence wants the case to move quickly and for the case to be resolved ahead of the 2024 election or if there will be attempts to delay it until after the election. But Mr Trump has for decades attempted to delay legal cases and this case is likely to be given the same treatment. If the trial goes beyond the election and Mr Trump is elected, he may theoretically attempt to pardon himself. He may also order his attorney general to drop the charges against him, The Times notes. Following Mr Trump’s indictment in Miami, Special Counsel Jack Smith indicated that he wanted a speedy trial. Judge Cannon wrote in the court order that the trial is set to be held at her home courthouse in Fort Pierce, a small town in the north of the Southern District of Florida. More follows...

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The massive drone attack across multiple regions of Russia into Wednesday marked Ukraine's largest attack on Russian soil since the start of Vladimir Putin's invasion 18 months ago. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said it is one of 25 such attacks on Russia during August as Kyiv increases its attempts to "bring the war home" to Russia and destroy equipment that would be used on the frontline in Ukraine. The MoD believes that Russian air defences are likely having difficulty detecting and destroying the drones, given the number of drones hitting their targets. For Ukraine, their own mission to down drones coming from Russia, a constant menace throughout the war, is being added by the US-made 'Vampire' rocket system. The Vampire consists of a laser-guided-missile launcher that houses four rockets and can quickly be installed in a military – or even civilian – truck with a flat bed. It can fire BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System rockets outfitted with fuses designed to detonate near a drone. The Vampire, which stands for Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletised ISR Rocket Equipment, has one major aim. As the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for policy Colin Kahl, put it, the launcher “uses small missiles, essentially, to shoot [drones] out of the sky.” The laser-guided element allows it to be very accurate, without being as hi-tech as other systems being sent by Western allies. There are other advantages to the system too. The cost per missile is about $27,000 (£21,000), which is expensive for a single munition but relatively cheap for guided missile. The fact that it can be added to most flatbed trucks is useful, with Ukraine's ground forces having proved resourceful in adapting a number of vehicles to house the weapons they need. Air defence systems like the Vampire give Ukrainian forces the option to swiftly – and relatively cheaply – combat Russia's kamikaze drones, offering them the ability to keep their most advanced anti-aircraft systems for areas where they are most important. With many air defence systems built to take down airplanes, helicopters and missiles, small drones can prove a costly problem. While there is scope for advanced technology drones to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to produce, but smaller ones can cost thousands or even hundreds of pounds. Missiles used to shoot them down can also cost hundreds of thousands, making the four-barrel Vampire rocket launcher system a relative steal. The Pentagon has confirmed that the Vampire, which is also able to strike ground units, is now being used by Ukrainian forces. “Initial Vampire systems have been delivered and are in operation by Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the Pentagon’s Acquisition and Sustainment Office said in statement. The company that makes the counter-drone system, L3Harris Technologies Inc have said that four of the 14 systems that make up a $40m contract signed in January, arrived in Ukraine in the middle of the year. The contract calls for the other 10 to be delivered by the end of 2023. While the bulk of US military support to Ukraine comes from existing stock, the contact for the Vampires comes directly under the billions of dollars set forth as part of Washington's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. It is the first time the system has been deployed in a combat zone – and it will prove extremely useful to Ukraine in a conflict where drones are playing an increasingly important role. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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