Former US President Donald Trump will be facing a trial on March 4, 2024 for attempting to overturn his 2020 US Presidential election defeat. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied the claims by Trump’s attorney to push the trial date to April 2026 given the massive amount of data they were reviewing. They had argued they required more time to prepare for what they claim is a novel and unprecedented prosecution.
However, she agreed to postpone the trial a little beyond January 2024, which was proposed by special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution team.
Mr. Trump will have to make the trial date work, regardless of his schedule,” Chutkan said.
March 4 is the day before Republican voters in over 12 US states will decide if they want to give Trump another shot at becoming the President.
Schedule of Trump’s trials
Trump is also a defendant in three civil trials scheduled to take place over the coming six months. He is due to stand trial in New York on March 25 on state charges of concealing a hush money payment to a porn star.Chutkan said she would consult with the judge in that case to work out any potential scheduling conflicts.
Another trial on federal charges in Florida that allege Trump Trump illegally retained classified records after leaving the White House and tried to obstruct justice is scheduled for May 20, 2024.
A trial date for the fourth criminal case in Georgia has not yet been set. Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis has requested a start of March 4, but Chutkan’s decision means that timeline will likely shift.
Chutkan accused of being biased
Trump has previously lashed out at Chutkan accusing her of being biased against him. Chutkan has warned that Trump should stop posting inflammatory statements online about witnesses or others involved in the case.
Trump has portrayed all four criminal prosecutions as politically motivated attempts to stop him from returning to power.
He has pleaded not guilty in three of those cases, and is due in Georgia on September 6 to enter a plea in that case, according to a court filing on Monday. That case also stemmed from his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat.
One of his 18 co-defendants in Georgia, his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, is pressing to move his trial to federal court, where he might face a more sympathetic jury.
In Washington, Trump’s attorneys said they need time to sort through the government’s evidence, which totals about 12.8 million pages.
“This man’s liberty and life is at stake and he deserves an adequate representation,” Lauro said.Prosecutors say much of the evidence consists of public materials, such as Trump’s statements and congressional records. They said on Monday that they have handed most of it over.
Chutkan said Trump’s legal team should have already gotten a good start. “Mr. Trump’s counsel has known this was coming for some time,” she said.