Special counsel Jack Smith’s team of prosecutors asked a judge Thursday to set a trial date of Jan. 2 for former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election conspiracy case.
The proposed Jan. 2 date is just under two weeks before the first votes are set to be cast in the first Republican primary in the 2024 presidential race, The Associated Press reported. The first caucuses will be taking place in Iowa on Jan 15. It is also days before the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“Only an out-of-touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Thursday, according to the AP.
In court papers that the AP obtained, prosecutors said that they wanted the trial to move “swiftly in Washington’s federal court.” Defense attorneys can contest the date.
“A January 2 trial date would vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial — an interest guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law in all cases, but of particular significance here, where the defendant, a former president, is charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens’ legitimate votes,” prosecutors wrote in court papers obtained by the AP.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan will set the court date, according to the AP.
Chutkan reportedly has given Trump’s team until Monday to make a request of their own, according to the Washington Post. She has a hearing scheduled in Washington for Aug. 28 to set the trial date.
Chutkan is also expected to hold her first hearing Friday in the special counsel’s election subversion case over “a related dispute over finalizing a protective order limiting public disclosure of evidence in the case,” that Trump’s teams says will be needed in making plans for the trial, according to the newspaper.
“It is difficult to imagine a public interest stronger than the one in this case, 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.” Prosecutors wrote in the court filings obtained by the Post.
“Trial in this case is clearly a matter of public importance, which merits in favor of a prompt resolution.”
