(HorizonPost.com) – The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s election interference case this week scheduled the start of the trial for March 4, 2024, just one day before Super Tuesday, NBC News reported.
At a hearing on Monday, federal prosecutors and Trump’s legal team each presented their proposals for when the trial should be scheduled, with prosecutors requesting a January start with jury selection in December and Trump’s attorneys requesting that the trial be pushed until April 2026, well after the 2024 election.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan told both sides that neither proposal was acceptable. She suggested that Trump should prioritize the trial over the election and said she wouldn’t alter the schedule based on the defendant’s other professional obligations.
Judge Chutkan said that it was in the public interest that there is a fair and timely administration of justice.
The former president’s attorney John Lauro said scheduling the trial for 2024 would violate Trump’s rights, arguing that prosecutors have turned over millions of pages of discovery. Lauro said the prosecution’s request is not for a “speedy trial,” but “for a show trial,” and argued that Trump is neither above the law nor “below the law.”
Judge Chutkan slapped down the defense’s argument about discovery, pointing out that the discovery process in this day and age does not mean “sitting in a warehouse with boxes of paper looking at every single page.”
She said the defense has already had time to prepare for the trial, pointing out that the public has been aware of the grand jury investigation of Trump since September.
After Judge Chutkan ruled for a March 4 start, Lauro made an on-the-record objection and argued that the defense would not be able to adequately represent Trump with a March 4 trial date. The judge noted his objection and moved on.
In early August, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on four charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and remain in office.
The former president pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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