Lawyers for ex-US President Donald Trump have requested an April 2026 date for the start of the federal electoral conspiracy trial against the Republican. “The public has an interest in justice and a fair trial, not in a hasty verdict,” said the motion published on Thursday (local time). Trump’s lawyers argue that the processing of the extensive documents would take months in this case.
Prosecutors had previously asked for an appointment on January 2, 2024. “The government’s proposed hearing date strikes a reasonable balance between the defendant’s right to prepare a defense and the public’s strong interest in a speedy hearing in this case,” said Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The federal judge in charge, Tanya Chutkan, will rule on the start date for the trial on August 28.
Trump was indicted by the federal judiciary in early August for his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and thus stay in power. The 77-year-old Republican was also charged with similar allegations in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday.
Both processes are likely to begin in the coming year and thus in the middle of the primary campaign for the Republican presidential candidacy. The Jan. 2 federal trial date requested by prosecutors would be just two weeks before the Jan. 15 primary begins. The date requested by Trump’s prosecutors, however, is well after the November 2024 presidential election.
Canceled press conference: Trump wanted to present a report
Trump meanwhile canceled a press conference planned for next Monday at his golf club in the state of New Jersey, in which he had wanted to present a report on alleged voter fraud in Georgia 2020. His lawyers preferred to present what he saw as “irrefutable and overwhelming evidence of electoral fraud and irregularities” in the form of court documents, the ex-president wrote on Thursday evening (local time) on his online platform Truth Social. “That’s why the press conference is no longer necessary!” he emphasized.
Trump previously said the findings of the report on the “rigged and stolen” Georgia election should result in the charges against him being dropped in the southern state. However, US media reported on Thursday that his lawyers had urgently advised him not to attend the press conference because spreading dubious allegations of voter fraud could harm him in the process.
The ex-president claims to this day that after the 2020 election he only took action against election fraud in favor of his rival Joe Biden – even though courts, authorities and experts have often rejected and refuted allegations of massive election fraud. (AFP)
