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The federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s election interference case on Monday set a trial date for March 4, 2024, a critical moment in the Republican presidential primaries because it is the day before Super Tuesday.
Mr. Trump’s legal team pushed for an April 2026 trial date. They argued that the large amount of discovery in the case and Mr. Trump’s ongoing legal issues in other jurisdictions necessitated the lengthy wait for his federal trial in Washington.
“Never in the history of the United States have we seen a case of this magnitude go to trial in four months, and this man’s liberty and life is at stake,” Trump’s attorney John Lauro said Monday. “He deserves an adequate representation. He’s no different than any American.”
Federal prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team have pressed for a January trial date with jury selection starting in December. They said the earlier date would “vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial.”
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said neither proposal was “acceptable.” She said the special counsel’s proposal was too soon, but Mr. Trump’s offer was unreasonable.
“Discovery in 2023 is not sitting in a warehouse with boxes of paper looking at every single page,” she said.
Judge Chutkan added that the public has an interest in the fair and timely administration of justice and that millions of pages of discovery have already been turned over. She also said she wouldn’t change a trial schedule because of a defendant’s professional obligations and used the example of a professional athlete with a trial during a sports season.
The Trump campaign said the trial date in the middle of the primaries proves that the Biden administration is trying to interfere with Mr. Trump’s presidential bid.
“The date set today deprives President Trump of his Constitutional right to a fair trial, a seminal bedrock of America, and continues to expose the corruption of the witch hunts being thrown against President Trump,” the campaign said in a statement. “From setting a trial date for the day before ’Super Tuesday’ to sending a fundraising email the moment of President Trump’s processing in Fulton County, the Biden regime is no longer hiding its nakedly political motivations. President Trump will not be deterred, he will fight these hoaxes at every turn, and will win for the American people.”
During Monday’s hearing, the judge scolded Mr. Lauro after he railed against Mr. Smith’s request for a January 2024 trial.
“President Trump is entitled to a fair trial,” Mr. Lauro told the court. “This is a request for a show trial, not for a speedy trial. Mr. Trump is not below the law, but he is not above it either.”
Mr. Lauro criticized the plan to have Mr. Trump’s trial in the middle of the 2024 campaign season, raising his voice at times.
“For a federal prosecutor to suggest that we could go to trial in four months is not only absurd, but it’s a violation of their oath to justice,” he said.
That prompted a stern rebuke from Judge Chutkan.
“Let’s take the temperature down a little here,” she fired back.
A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Mr. Trump this month on four criminal charges stemming from his efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election. The charges are conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction and conspiracy against the right to vote and have one’s vote counted.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The former president faces three other criminal cases in state and federal jurisdictions.
State prosecutors in New York filed criminal charges alleging he falsified documents to cover up hush money payments to two women who had alleged affairs with him. In Georgia, state prosecutors have filed separate criminal charges against him and 18 other individuals for their efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Trump also faces federal charges in Florida for allegedly mishandling classified government documents. A trial in that case is scheduled to begin in May.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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