2023-08-28 17:54:10
The trial of former US President Donald Trump in connection with attempted electoral fraud in Washington is scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024. The judge responsible set the date at a hearing on Monday in the US capital, as the “Washington Post” and the TV broadcaster CNN reported unanimously from the session. The start of the process thus falls on the day before “Super Tuesday”, during which Trump wants to seal his renewed candidacy for the presidency.
On “Super Tuesday” primary elections to choose the presidential candidate will take place in 16 of the 50 US states, including in the populous states of Texas and California. Experts assume that the ex-president, who is way ahead of his opponents in the polls, will practically have his Republican party’s nomination in his pocket that day.
“Mr. Trump will have to meet the trial date regardless of his schedule,” Chutkan said, referring to the campaign. The public prosecutor’s office had already called for the trial to begin in January 2024, but Trump’s lawyers wanted more than two years of preparation time to sift through the almost 13 million pages of evidence. Judge Chutkan denied that request. “The defense’s proposed April 2026 date goes well beyond what is necessary.” Trump’s attorney John Lauro saw it differently: “This man’s freedom and life are at stake and he deserves proper representation.” The indictment charged Trump with four formal charges, including conspiracy against the United States. If convicted, he could face a long prison sentence.
The Republican presidential candidate faces three more trials. The 77-year-old has also been charged with various allegations in New York, Miami and Atlanta. Trump is the first ex-president in US history to face criminal charges. Federal charges have been brought against him in Washington for his efforts to retrospectively overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Trump lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden at the time, but to this day he has not admitted his defeat. Instead, Trump then tried in various ways to turn the election result later. His campaign against the outcome of the election culminated in an unprecedented, violent attack by his supporters on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump has three more charges to deal with in the middle of his campaign – and three more court cases. In the state of Georgia, charges of attempted election interference were brought against Trump and 18 other suspects. In Georgia, Trump narrowly lost to Biden in the 2020 presidential election. At the time, the Republican had focused on Georgia and several other states in his attempts to reverse the outcome of the election. It is still unclear when a process could start in Atlanta. The formal indictment reading is scheduled there for the coming week, as US media reported on Monday.
Trump has also been charged in New York and Miami. The New York case is related to hush money payments to a porn star – the trial there is scheduled to begin on March 25, 2024. The case in Miami revolves around the storage of top-secret government documents in Trump’s private estate – the court proceedings are scheduled to start on May 20, 2024.
Trump has denied all allegations and viewed the criminal prosecution against him as an attempt by his political opponents to prevent him from another term. According to experts, a conviction would not legally prevent the Republican from running in the November 2024 election – especially since it is highly questionable whether a final judgment will be available by then.
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