Special Counsel Picks Date for Trump Election Trial

Special counsel Jack Smith's staff on Thursday proposed a timeline for the trial of Donald Trump on charges that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, one that would have the court proceeding begin on Jan. 2. That would put the election interference trial ahead of the others the former president faces, Politico reports. In their filing, federal prosecutors said the reason is the national importance of the trial. "It is difficult to imagine a public interest stronger than the one in this case," assistant special counsel Molly Gaston wrote, "in which the defendant—the former President of the United States—is charged with three criminal conspiracies intended to undermine the federal government, obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election, and disenfranchise voters."

That would mean the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol would fall during the first week of the trial. The filing says prosecutors would need no more than six weeks to present their case. That schedule would air the evidence against Trump just before Republican primary voting begins—the Iowa caucuses are scheduled for Jan. 15—and possibly keep him in the courtroom while his opponents for the GOP presidential nomination are campaigning, per CNN. Trump's lawyers are due to deliver their preferred trial date next week to the court in Washington, DC. The decision will be made by Judge Tanya Chutkan, probably this month.

The other cases against Trump are on track for trial dates in March, for the New York case concerning a hush money coverup, and in May, for the classified documents case to be tried in Florida. Thursday's filing said that the prosecution is ready to provide much of the evidence to Trump's lawyers in days and that it will be organized in a way that will facilitate a quick review. But John Lauro, one of Trump's lawyers, already has said reviewing the evidence could take years, which would push the trial beyond the 2024 presidential election. (More election interference indictment stories.)