Donald Trump's federal trial for election plotting set for March next year

livemint.com:

AP, the judge dismissed the defence's request to delay the trial by multiple years. Judge Tanya Chutkan refuted the assertions made by Trump's legal team, who had argued that an April 2026 trial date was necessary due to the extensive evidence review and the unique nature of the prosecution.

However, she did agree to a minor postponement beyond the initially suggested January 2024 date put forward by special counsel Jack Smith's prosecution team. “The public has a right to a prompt and efficient resolution of this matter," Chutkan said.

Maintaining the present date would present a challenge to Trump's endeavor to delay the case until well past the 2024 presidential election, in which he currently holds a prominent position as the Republican front-runner for the nomination. The March 2024 date would guarantee a high-profile trial in the heart of the nation's capital during the peak of the GOP presidential nomination schedule.

This would necessitate Trump to manage both campaign and court proceedings simultaneously, with the trial scheduled the day before Super Tuesday—a critical voting day characterized by primaries in over a dozen states, offering the largest number of delegates. Also Read: US court sets date for Donald Trump's trial in plotting to overturn election results case "I want to note here that setting a trial date does not depend and should not depend on the defendant’s personal or professional obligations," Chutkan said.

Chutkan has shown limited receptiveness to Trump's attempts at prolonging the case, while also expressing unease over his extrajudicial statements made on social media. In recent times, she cautioned Trump's legal representatives about the boundaries surrounding his public discourse