Prosecutors requested in a Thursday court filing that the trial for former President Donald Trump’s most recent indictment begin on Jan 2., just days before the third anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
That riot is tied up in the charges against Trump, which include conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
Lawmakers were working to certify votes for current President Joe Biden when the riot broke out, and Trump held a rally that day where he made unfounded claims about election fraud. In an Aug. 1 filing, Trump was accused of a “conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding at which the collected results of the presidential election are counted and certified.”
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges outlined in the federal indictment filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
“Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses,” said Trump in a Thursday Truth Social post. “Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA! Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”
Reuters also reported that a spokesperson for Trump said Smith and the Justice Department “are blatantly playing political games,” and cited Trump’s status as the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential election. FiveThirtyEight polling data from this week indicated that Trump was far in the lead, with support from more than half of the Republican party.
According to the Thursday filing, the U.S. government expects Trump’s trial to take no longer than four to six weeks. It said that the trial date would give Trump time to review discovery information and allow the court to handle any pre-trial issues. Per Reuters, Smith’s office said it is prepared to give most of the evidence it intends to use to Trump and his team by the end of this month.
“Most importantly, a January 2 trial date would vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial –an interest guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law in all cases, but of particular significance here, where the defendant, a former president, is charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens’ legitimate votes.”
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington is presiding over the election case. She is set to hold a Friday hearing on how evidence may be handled by Trump and his defense team, Reuters said. Chutkan is also expected to address classified information prosecutors expect to be include in the case during a previously scheduled Aug. 28 hearing.
Trump was indicted two previous times this year – one for an alleged hush money scheme and another for his handling of classified documents after leaving office. He is also expected to go on trial for those cases in early 2024. If he is found guilty of some of the charges levied against him, it could impact his ability to run in the November 2024 presidential election.
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