Judge in Trump's classified documents case keeps May trial date -- for now

The federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's classified documents case has granted a request from Trump's legal team to push back some pretrial deadlines -- but for now she is keeping the trial's May start date.

In a ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to move back some deadlines for pretrial motions in order to help the defense team deal with issues related to their ability to view the classified materials at the center of the case.

The judge said she will make a decision on whether to move the trial date when the parties meet in March, after they have gone through litigation involving how classified discovery is handled at trial.

Cannon last month paused all such litigation while she was considering the request to adjust the deadlines.

Trump pleaded not guilty in June to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation's defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government's efforts to get the documents back.

The trial is currently scheduled to get underway on May 20.