The trial of former US President Donald Trump for illegally retaining classified documents in his home will take place starting August 14 in Miami, Florida.

In an order signed today, the chief judge in the case, Aileen Cannon, set a deadline of two weeks from August 14 for the trial to take place, adding that if the proceedings are postponed for any reason, it should happen as soon as possible.

The deadline for the defense and prosecutors to file motions relating to the trial is July 24 and a hearing will be held on August 8 to deal with all calendar issues.

Special prosecutor Jack Smith, in charge of the investigation, promised that the trial against Trump and his aide Walt Nauta, accused of being an accomplice of the former president, will be swift and will respect "the public interest and the rights of the defendants".

This month, Trump was charged in Miami courts with 37 federal crimes for illegally holding official documents after leaving the US presidency (20017-2021).

Of the 37 charges - of which Trump has pleaded not guilty - 31 are for knowingly withholding documents related to US national security, but the former president is also accused of obstruction of justice and willfully concealing documents.

Some of these crimes are punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of 250,000 dollars (around 230,000 euros).

Trump became the first President or former President in US history to be criminally indicted by the federal courts. (NM)