Dear Reader,

Man plans and God laughs. 

I was reminded of this old adage when Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion on Friday asking the court to set a December trial date in the federal criminal case charging Donald Trump with willfully retaining national defense information and related offenses. While Smith’s suggested date is a full six months away, I would be stunned if the trial actually began that soon. 

Despite the best efforts of a prosecutor to move a case quickly, a trial date often takes on a life of its own. I learned this lesson working as a federal prosecutor for almost 20 years. Early in my career, I would receive a trial date from the court and dutifully prepare and align my calendar accordingly on the naive belief that the trial would actually begin on the day set by the court. Inevitably, some event would cause a postponement of the trial — discovery disputes, defense motions, unavailable witnesses or attorneys, or countless other reasons. The wheels of justice, I learned, move slowly.