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By Miriam Raftery
Photo, left: Judge Tanya Chutckan, who will preside over the federal case in Washington D.C.
August 28, 2023 (Washington D.C.) – The first criminal trial against former President Donald Trump has been scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024, in the midst of the primary season, opening one day before Super Tuesday.
Trump—now the leading candidate for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination—has pleaded not guilty to the four federal charges of election interference. He is the only named defendant in the case, which lists four unindicted coconspirators.
The indictment lists four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States (conspiring with others to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election), conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding (certifying of votes by Congress), obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding (such as refusing to order the National Guard or take any action to stop the violent January 6, 2021 insurrection); and conspiracy against rights (the rights of voters).
Judge Tanya Chutkan chose a middle ground for a trial date that is two months later than the January 2024 date that special prosecutor Jack Smith sought, but far earlier than the April 2026 date that Trump’s attorney requested, which would have been after the election and were Trump to win, after he would take office.
Chutkan rejected the Justice Department’s date as too soon to allow Trump’s defense adequate time to review materials and ready their defense. But she added ,”While Mr.Trump has a right to prepare, the public has a right to prompt and efficient resolution of this matter.”
As for the trial impeding Trump’s ability to attend campaign events, Judge Chutkan made clear he would be treated the same as any ordinary criminal defendant, noting that if a professional athlete were on trial, “it would be inappropriate to set a trial date to accommodate her schedule.”
Trump’s lawyer, John Lauro, objected that the March 4, 2024 trial date would violate his right to due process. But the Judge noted that Trump has known of the investigation for over a year, that many of the documents were already available to his legal team, and suggested that Trump’s legal team has inflated the amount of evidence to be reviewed.
Special Prosecutor Smith, in court filings, has argued that an early trial date in the case to be held in Washington D.C. would “vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial.”
This is one of four cases pending against Trump for criminal charges.
He and 18 co-defendants are slated to be arraigned September 6th in Fulton, County Georgia, where Trump was arrested last week, had a mugshot taken (photo, right), and was released on $250,000 bail.
Fani Willis, the Atlanta prosecutor in the Georgia case, had earlier asked a judge there to schedule her case for March 4, 2024 – the same date that the federal prosecution in Washington D.C.is now set.
It remains to be seen when Trump’s trial in Georgia will be scheduled, which accuses Trump and the 18 coconspirators of racketeering in a complex plan that involved fake electors, tampering with voting machines, and pressuring state election officials in Georgia and other states to alter the election outcome.
The two other cases are a federal case in Florida with 37 counts related to retention and misuse of classified documents and a New York state case over alleged hush money payments to a porn star.
Trump, on social media and public statements, has lashed out at prosecutors in all four cases, each of which was brought after four separate grand juries found evidence sufficient for indictments. Trump has previously called Judge Chutkan “biased and unfair.”
More concerning to prosecutors, he posted that he would be “coming after” anyone who goes after him, after being warned not to post anything that could be construed as threatening to witnesses. A protective order was granted limiting Trump’s access to sensitive documents and grand jurors’ identities, or to make any remarks that could have a chilling effect on witnesses.
Chutkan has previously said that if anyone makes “inflammatory” statements about the case, she would be inclined to move more quickly to trial to prevent any intimidation of witnesses or contamination of the jury pool.
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