Trump’s trial date for election obstruction case set on March 4 in Washington.
Washington Judge Sets Trial Date for Trump’s Election Challenge Case
Washington, District of Columbia federal Judge Tanya Chutkan has set the trial date for the case dealing with former President Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 4.
Judge Chutkan declared both trial dates offered by President Trump’s lawyers and special counsel Jack Smith as unacceptable. She emphasized that she took into account other trials President Trump is facing but wouldn’t consider his personal or professional circumstances, such as the campaign schedule of his 2024 presidential run.
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Special counsel Jack Smith brought four charges against President Trump on Aug. 1, including a conspiracy to obstruct the collection and counting of electoral votes and a conspiracy against Americans’ right to vote.
The indictment assumes that President Trump didn’t genuinely believe the election victory was unlawfully taken from him and that his attempts to challenge the results were unlawful.
The timing of the trial carries political implications. President Trump may want to delay it beyond the election, while his opponents would prefer to see him sentenced during the election season. Interestingly, the judge selected a trial date that falls one day before the ”Super Tuesday” slew of primary elections in 16 states.
Mr. Smith initially requested a January trial date with jury selection as early as Dec. 11, while the defense proposed April 2026.
The case appears to be exceptionally complex. During the hearing, federal prosecutor Molly Gaston revealed that the prosecutors are almost finished handing over some 12.8 million documents and files to the defense as part of the discovery process.
President Trump’s lawyer, John Lauro, criticized the prosecutors for suggesting that he could review the discovery in just four months, calling it “ridiculous” and accusing them of trying to turn the case into a “show trial.”
The judge pointed out that President Trump has resources available that other defendants don’t, without specifying what those resources are. She also mentioned that lawyers would be reviewing available materials even before the charges were brought, to which Mr. Lauro explained that he wasn’t yet President Trump’s lawyer at that time.
There will be several pre-trial legal issues that need to be litigated, including subpoenas and questions regarding Mr. Smith’s novel use of criminal law, according to Mr. Lauro. The judge jokingly responded that she expects to see him arguing those issues before her many times before the trial.
Ms. Gaston highlighted that President Trump and his lawyers have made public comments regarding the case and the work of the Congressional January 6 committee. She suggested that the defense can’t claim their research started from scratch on the day of the indictment, arguing th
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