Lawyers for former US President Donald Trump have requested an April 2026 trial date for the federal election interference case, according to new documents.
Prosecutors, led by special counsel Jack Smith, have requested a date much earlier than January 2024. Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to rule on the request on August 28.
The ruling will crucially place the trial before or after next year’s presidential elections, in which Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
“The public interest lies in justice and fair trial, not in rushing to judgment,” Trump’s attorneys wrote Thursday.
The 77-year-old Republican faces ninety-one criminal charges in four criminal cases, including alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and the mishandling of classified documents.
Donald Trump was charged on Monday with state charges, filed by a Georgia district attorney, relating to interference in the 2020 election
Fani Willis is seen Monday night announcing the charges against the 19 accused of working to nullify Georgia’s election results
On Thursday, Trump posted a Winston Churchill meme with a falsely attributed quote
On Thursday night, Trump posted a Winston Churchill meme with a falsely attributed quote: “Do you have enemies? GOOD. It means you stood up for something in your life.
It comes after Trump was indicted in Georgia on Monday, with prosecutors using statutes normally seen in mob trials and accusing the former president of leading a “criminal organization.”
Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, obtained the 41-count indictment from a grand jury on Monday and told a press conference that the indictment The prosecution alleged “violations of Georgian law resulting from a criminal conspiracy to nullify the election results”. in this state.’
Trump called her an “out of control and very corrupt district attorney” and said the charges were part of a “witch hunt.”
The case could lead to a watershed moment, the first televised trial of a former president in US history.
Trump was charged in Georgia alongside 18 other people, including his former attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Trump was charged with RICO – Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations – a tally that is frequently used to judge mob figures, cartel bosses and gang leaders.
He is also charged with solicitation of breach of oath by a public official; conspiracy to commit first-degree forgery; perjury; and a host of other counts.
If convicted on all counts, he faces 71 years in prison — and state charges, unlike federal, cannot be pardoned by a president.
Trump’s lawyers – Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg – called the indictment “shocking and absurd”.
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith speaks at a press conference after Trump was indicted in federal court for election interference
John Eastman (left) and Rudy Giuliani (right) were among the co-defendants charged with Trump
Former President Donald Trump enters the Manhattan Courthouse in New York on April 4, 2023
They pointed out that the indictment was briefly posted online hours before it was officially filed, and said it forced Willis to rush the charges.
“In light of this major fumble, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has clearly decided to force and rush this 98-page indictment,” they said.
“This one-sided grand jury presentation relied on witnesses who nurture their own personal and political interests – some of whom have waged campaigns touting their efforts against the defendant and/or have taken advantage of book deals and business opportunities. employment accordingly.
“We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment which is arguably every bit as flawed and unconstitutional as this whole process has been.”
Trump also referenced the leaked indictment, saying it suggested the case was “rigged.”
“So, the witch hunt continues!” he wrote on Truth Social.
’19 people Indicated (sic) tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by a very corrupt and out of control district attorney who campaigned and raised funds on, ‘I’m going to have Trump.’
“And what about these indictment documents released today, long before the Grand Jury even voted, and then quickly withdrawn? Looks fake to me!
‘Why didn’t they charge 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it in the middle of my political campaign. Witch hunt!’
Special Counsel Jack Smith led two federal investigations linked to Trump, both of which resulted in charges against the former president.
The first charges stemming from those investigations came in June when Trump was indicted for mishandling top secret documents at his Florida estate.
The indictment alleged that Trump repeatedly enlisted aides and attorneys to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed a Pentagon “plan of attack” and a classified map.
A replacement indictment issued in July added charges accusing Trump of requesting the removal of surveillance footage from his Mar-a-Lago estate after FBI and Justice Department investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House.
The new indictment also charged him with unlawfully possessing a document he allegedly showed visitors to New Jersey.
In all, Trump faces 40 crimes in the classified documents case. The most serious charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on May 20, 2024. If that date stands, it will mean that a potential trial will not begin until the timeline for presidential nominations is well advanced.
Smith’s second case against Trump came to light in August when the former president was charged with a felony for trying to overturn the 2020 election results on the eve of a violent riot by his supporters in the US Capitol.
The four-count indictment includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to obstruct official process: Congressional certification of Biden’s victory.
It describes how Trump repeatedly told his supporters and others that he had won the election, despite knowing it was untrue, and how he tried to persuade state officials, the vice -President Mike Pence and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results.
Trump was also indicted in March in New York on state charges stemming from silent money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sex.
He pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. Each count carries a sentence of up to four years in prison, although it is unclear whether a judge would impose a prison sentence if Trump is found guilty.
The charges relate to a series of checks that were sent to his lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for his role in paying porn actor Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006, shortly long after Melania Trump gave birth to their son Baron. These payments were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal mandate that prosecutors said did not exist.
