Trump’s Team Wants to Delay One Trial Until 2026

(LibertySociety.com) – Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team is looking to expeditiously try former President Trump for the charges stemming from his alleged role in contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. Requesting a December jury selection and a January 2, 2024, trial, Smith’s assistant special counsel claimed the date “would vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial.” U.S. District Judge Tonya Chutkan asked both sides to submit their trial date requests. Former President Trump’s attorneys submitted their opposition to the government’s proposal, expressing their disbelief in the date they suggested.

In an August 17 filing, Trump’s attorneys offered Judge Chutkan a detailed description of the effort it would take to merely go through the documents that the government has handed to the defense team. They told Chutkan that if they started reviewing the documents that day, they would have to read “99,762 pages per day” to finish before the proposed jury selection date. They illustrated the 11.5 million pages, which they say “would be a tower of paper stretching nearly 5,000 feet into the sky” when stacked up. They noted that the documents alone are only a portion of the materials their team needs to review, as the government has also given them digital materials such as recordings of phone calls and image files from electronic devices.

Trump’s attorneys also described other materials that the government has yet to share with the defense. They argued that former President Trump may also have additional discovery requests as their preparations proceed. They requested an April 2026 trial, asking Chutkan to deny the government’s request for January 2024. Chutkan will reportedly be setting the trial date during an upcoming August 28 hearing, which former President Trump will likely not attend. He has also hinted that he will be requesting a change of venue, citing Chutkan’s political bias toward him and the belief that he will not get a fair trial in the heavily left-leaning capital city.