Live updates: Trump classified documents hearing, Fani Willis case closing arguments

Two key hearings today could have big implications for former President Donald Trump and the criminal charges he faces for his actions around the 2020 election and retaining classified information after leaving office.

Here’s what to watch in each hearing:

Classified documents hearing: US District Judge Aileen Cannon has told both parties to be prepared to discuss scheduling in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, including a request from Trump’s attorneys to hold a hearing over whether they can demand additional information from an assortment of federal agencies as well as from Joe Biden’s White House. Special Counsel Jack Smith and attorneys for Trump proposed moving the trial later into the summer in court filings Thursday. Smith said he believes that Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliviera, should go to trial on July 8, 2024.

For Friday’s hearing in the documents case, scheduled for 10 a.m. ET, Cannon told both parties to be ready to discuss several legal issues, including whether the names of witnesses, FBI agents and others involved in the initial investigation should be redacted in filings from Trump’s team. The hearing is likely to touch on the Justice Department’s efforts to prevent harassment and intimidation of witnesses — a persistent issue in cases against Trump — and to protect the jury selection process.

Hearing over efforts to disqualify Fani Willis: Defense attorneys in Fulton County will deliver their closing arguments as to why Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be dismissed from the election interference case against Trump and his alleged co-conspirators. The 1 p.m. ET hearing in front of Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee will conclude defense attorneys’ days-long presentation into whether allegations around Willis’ romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest that should bar her from continuing to prosecute the case.

In three hearings over the past two weeks, defense attorneys have tried to bring witnesses and evidence that support their allegations against Willis, specifically that she financially benefited from the relationship and that it began before she hired him in late 2021. Attorneys for Trump and his allies are expected to argue that Wade and Willis lied under oath about when their relationship started. To underscore that argument, defense attorneys will likely highlight Wade’s cell phone data which they claim shows he made several visits, including some late at night, to the area where Willis was living at the time before they say their relationship began.