If there was any doubt that the 2024 election will be a political contest like no other, it will be on Monday when a federal judge sets the stage for Donald Trump’s trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results. Date, this doubt is eliminated. Election date: March 4, 2024. During a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied a request by Trump’s lawyers to delay the trial until after the election. “The setting of a trial date does not and should not depend on the personal or professional obligations of the accused,” Judge Chatkan said. “Mr. Trump, like any defendant, has to make sure the trial date goes through, regardless of his schedule.”
Government lawyers representing special counsel Jack Smith have asked for a January 2024 trial date, citing the seriousness of the case as it needs to be resolved quickly. Justice Department attorney Molly Gaston told the court that the defendants “are charged with a historic crime: attempting to overturn the presidential election, disenfranchise millions of Americans, and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.” By Attorney John Lauro Trump’s legal team, led by John Lauro, had asked for the case to be delayed until 2026 to give them enough time to review all the evidence prosecutors have gathered.
Later Monday, Trump vowed to appeal Judge Chatkan’s ruling, although trial dates are not normally appealable. If the case goes ahead as planned, jury selection could begin a day before Super Tuesday, when a dozen states, including California, North Carolina and Texas, are expected to hold their presidential primaries. (The final primary schedule has yet to be set.) A week and a half before the trial date, Republican primaries and caucuses are likely to take place in Michigan, South Carolina, North Dakota and Idaho. In late March, 10 more states are expected to hold primaries, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Ohio.
It’s unclear how long the trial will last, but it’s likely to be quite lengthy: era The two sides told the judge in court documents that they needed at least four weeks to present their case, the report said. Federal trials are not usually televised, but this one seems certain to attract 24/7 media coverage regardless. Potential witnesses include Trump’s former vice president and current Republican primary opponent Mike Pence, as well as Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Regardless of the outcome of the trial, it will be a remarkable spectacle and one that seems certain to dominate the Republican primary.
During a hearing in Washington on Monday, Judge Chatkan was clearly determined to assert that the legal system takes precedence over political arrangements and the Trump administration’s delaying tactics. Judge Chatkan, a former public defender and corporate attorney, was nominated by Barack Obama to serve as a federal judge in 2013. team. “I take seriously the defense’s request that Mr. Trump be treated like any other defendant in court, and I intend to do so,” Chatkan said. But the judge, who has handled multiple cases stemming from the riots on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, also said the Trump team’s request to delay the trial until April 2026 “went far beyond what was necessary,” and It added that “the public has the right to demand that this matter be resolved promptly and effectively.”
Monday’s ruling raised questions about the timing of Trump’s other court cases. (He has pleaded not guilty in each case.) Trump is also currently scheduled to stand trial in New York on March 25, 2024, on charges of falsifying a relationship with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels’ payment for business records. During the 2016 presidential campaign. If Trump’s federal case proceeds two weeks before then, it appears likely that his trial in New York will be delayed. During Monday’s hearing, Judge Chatkan said she had been in touch with the judge handling the case.
Trump’s trial date in Fulton County, Georgia, is still pending. The scale of the case, involving more than a dozen defendants, has raised questions about how quickly it is progressing. Meadows appeared in a preliminary hearing on Monday, and his lawyers asked to try to move the case to federal court. Then comes Trump’s second federal trial on charges of mishandling classified information and obstruction of justice after he left office, which will take place in Florida, where the alleged crimes took place. Last month, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, set the trial date for May 20, 2024. It was unclear, however, how Monday’s announcement might affect the timing of the documents case.
In a social media message, Trump announced his intention to appeal the March 4 trial date, calling Judge Chutkan a “Trump-hating judge” and claiming “election interference!” His prosecution will only strengthen his standing in the Republican primary as his supporters rally behind him. The polling average, compiled by Real Clear Politics of recent polls, shows him leading Republicans by 40 points.
Of course, general election voters are very different from Republican primary voters. Recent polls show that about half of Americans think Trump should suspend his campaign, and slightly more than half think he should be prosecuted for trying to overturn the 2020 election. Last week, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of seven Republican senators to vote to impeach Trump in February 2021, called on the former president to end his re-election campaign. “I don’t think Americans are going to vote for someone who is convicted,” he said. That theory is likely to be tested next year. On the third anniversary of the 2020 election, with just months to go before the shocking aftermath, the wheels of justice are moving slowly. On Monday, Judge Chatkan stepped up the pace. ❖
