Prosecutor wants trial against Trump in January 2024, just before primaries

AFP Former President Trump attended a tournament at his own golf course in New Jersey today

NOS Nieuws•morgen, 01:08

The criminal case against Donald Trump should start on January 2 next year and should last about four to six weeks. The team of special counsel Jack Smith has requested this from a judge in Washington DC, who is in charge of the case. Smith last week sued Trump on behalf of the Justice Department over his refusal to accept the 2020 election results and his attempts to stay in power.

According to Smith, it is in the public interest to get the case started quickly: “It concerns a former president who is accused of trying to manipulate the election results and invalidate the legitimate votes of ordinary citizens.” His team wants to hand over the collected evidence to Trump and his lawyers by the end of this month.

‘Political games’

Trump previously pleaded not guilty in the case, and now says the timing is designed to hurt his chances in the upcoming election: About two weeks after the trial’s scheduled start date, the primary will determine who will be the Republican presidential nominee. in the elections in November next year. Trump is now the most likely candidate for the Republican party in the polls.

A Trump spokesman therefore accuses Smith and the Justice Department of “shameless political games”. Trump himself responded to Truth Social, his own social network, on the January 2 date: “A trial like this, if it has to happen at all, can’t happen until AFTER THE ELECTIONS.”

Also criminal cases in Florida and New York

If the judge in Washington agrees to the date of January 2, it means that Trump must appear in court three times in the first half of 2024: The New York criminal case will start in March, which revolves around hush money that Trump paid to former porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump is due to appear in court in Florida in May, in the case of secret government documents that he would have had in his home in that state even after his presidency.

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