An ongoing debate between former President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith about the starting date for Trump's federal election subversion criminal trial is all set to be the key issue in a hearing scheduled for Monday morning in a Washington, DC federal courthouse. Recent filings by both parties to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, reveal a dominated disagreement over when the trial should commence. Smith's team is advocating for a January 2024 start date while Trump and his lawyers are lobbying for a much later date in April 2026.
The two sides are now preparing to plead their cases before the judge in-person at 10 a.m. ET on Monday. According to a filing earlier this month by Smith's team, they are insisting that the trial should start by January 2, 2024. They estimated that it would take "no longer than four to six weeks" to present their evidence, which would mean Trump might spend his weekdays in court for the first two months of a key presidential election year, while Republican primary voting is unfolding.
However, the former president's legal team was quick to refute this proposal, asserting that Smith's proposed timeline for a "rapid" trial schedule was unfair. In their filing, they contended, "The government’s objective is clear: to deny President Trump and his counsel a fair ability to prepare for trial."
In their resistance, Trump's legal team expressed concerns over potential conflicts with the timeline of other ongoing criminal and civil cases involving the former president. This includes the classified documents case brought by Smith, the hush money case in New York, and the Georgia election subversion case. In the Georgia case, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis recently proposed a trial date of October 23, 2023, something Trump's team also opposed.
In a filing to Judge Chutkan last week, Smith dismissed Trump's worries about scheduling conflicts among his multiple criminal cases. His office even suggested starting jury selection in December this year to accommodate a hearing in the classified documents case in Florida.
Smith's team also refuted the contention by Trump's lawyers regarding the magnitude of the discovery materials presented by the prosecution. According to Smith's team, much of the evidence originated from "entities associated with the defendant," which was presented in an "exceptionally organized, clear, and user-friendly fashion," thereby overstating the volume of the evidence.
Trump is currently facing four counts in the case which includes conspiring to defraud the United States and to obstruct an official proceeding — a charge that was already successfully prosecuted against individuals who breached the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges earlier this month.
