Trump lawyers seek April 2026 trial date in federal election subversion case

THERE ON THE TARMAC AT NATIONAL. HE SAID THIS IS A POLITICAL PERSECUTION SPELL OUT FOR US, THOUGH, THE ROLE OF THE SPECIAL COUNSEL. THIS IS OUTSIDE THE HANDS OF ANY POLITICAL APPOINTEE AT THIS POINT. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT’S RIGHT. THE SPECIAL COUNSEL IS BEING BROUGHT IN TO ATTACK OR TO REFUTE JUST THOSE SORT OF CLAIMS. IT’S NOT SOMEBODY THAT’S PART OF THE POLITICAL HIERARCHY AND IT’S SOMEBODY THAT’S SUPPOSED TO BE INDEPENDENT SO THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT THE PROCESS IS INDEPENDENT. ALL RIGHT. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE TIMELINE FOR THIS CASE. IT’S HIS THIRD INDICTMENT, AND WE TALKED TO YOU YESTERDAY ABOUT HOW THIS ONE MIGHT ACTUALLY MOVE MORE QUICKLY THAN THE OTHER CASES AGAINST IN WHICH YOU’RE A BIT MORE COMPLICATED. THERE ARE MORE CHARGES IN THOSE CASES THAN THIS ONE. AND THERE ARE OTHER DEFENDANTS, AT LEAST IN THE CASE IN FLORIDA. WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE PRESIDENT OR THE EX-PRESIDENT IN THIS CASE? THE EX-PRESIDENT HAS A VERY PACKED LEGAL SCHEDULE. OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. HE’S FACING THREE DIFFERENT CIVIL CASES. HE’S FACING THREE PROSECUTIONS AND THREE DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS. THIS ONE’S REALLY THE CENTERPIECE, THOUGH, BECAUSE IT INVOLVES CONDUCT THAT TOOK PLACE WHILE HE WAS PRESIDENT TO SUBVERT THE ELECTION. THE NEXT DATE HERE ON THE 28TH IS LIKELY TO BE ONE WHERE THE COURT STARTS TO SCHEDULE A TIMELINE. AND AS YOU SAW TODAY IN COURT, THE DEFENSE IS RESISTING THE GOVERNMENT’S ATTEMPTS TO GET A SPEEDY TRIAL SCHEDULED BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DRAG THIS OUT AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. YEAH, THEY WANT TO PUSH THIS TO AFTER NEXT YEAR’S ELECTION. WHAT’S THE LIKELIHOOD OF THAT HAPPENING WITH THIS JUDGE AND WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THIS JUDGE IN DC? WELL, THE RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL ISN’T JUST A GENERAL RIGHT. IT REALLY BELONGS TO THE DEFENDANT. SO IF THE TRUMP LEGAL TEAM RESISTS THAT AND SAYS THAT THEY NEED MORE TIME TO PREPARE, I THINK THEY’RE LIKELY TO BE ABLE TO DRAG THIS OUT FOR QUITE A WHILE. AND THEIR GOAL, OF COURSE, IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH AS LONG AS THEY CAN THROUGH THE PRIMARY SCHEDULE AND HOPEFULLY EVEN AFTER THE GENERAL ELECTION. I DON’T THINK THAT THAT’S LIKELY, BUT IT’S CERTAINLY GOING TO BE THE GOAL THAT THEY SCHEDULE. AND ONE MORE QUESTION, WHILE I HAVE YOU, GREG. SO A LOT OF THIS CASE IS SURROUNDING SPEECH. AND YOU HEARD THE PRESIDENT’S LEGAL TEAM, THE FORMER PRESIDENT’S LEGAL TEAM. THEY’RE ALREADY ARGUING THAT THIS WAS A FREE SPEECH ISSUE, TOO. BUT THE SPECIAL COUNSEL SAYS FREE SPEECH DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO CONSPIRE AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. HOW FINE OF A LINE IS THAT AND IS IT GOING TO BE TOUGH FOR PROSECUTORS TO RESPOND TO THOSE CLAIMS? THE PROSECUTION IS GOING TO HAVE TO SHOW THE INTENT BEHIND THE PRESIDENT’S ACTIONS. SO THIS IS REALLY AN INTENT BASED CRIME. AND THEY’RE GOING TO REALLY BE SHOWING, AS THEY DID IN THE INDICTMENT, THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS NOT ONLY AWARE THAT THESE WERE FALSE ALLEGATIONS, BUT CONTINUED TO CIRCULATE THEM. ONE OF HIS OWN CAMPAIGN ADVISERS DESCRIBED THEM AS CONSPIRATORIAL THEORIES BEAMED DOWN FROM THE MOTHERSHIP. THEY’RE GOING TO TRY TO MAKE THE FORMER PRESIDENT EAT THOSE WORDS TO SHOW THAT HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS SAYING WAS WRONG, THAT THEY WERE LIES. AND HE CONTINUED TO CIRCULATE THEM. AND THAT REALLY IS THE CRIMINAL CONDUCT. ALL RIGHT, NEWSCENTER 5 LEGAL ANALYST GREG HENNING. GREG, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANKS SO MUCH. ABSOLUTELY GREAT INSIGHT THERE. SO JUST TO RECAP, THE FORMER PRESIDENT PLEADED NOT GUILTY TO ALL CHARGES TODAY. THE PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE HAVE AGREED TO THESE TERMS OF RELEASE. THEY INCLUDE APPEARING IN COURT AS REQUIRED SIGNING AN APPEARANCE BOND. TRUMP MUST NOT DISCUSS THE FACTS OF THE CASE WITH ANYONE HE KNOWS TO BE A WITNESS UNLESS COUNSEL

Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a federal judge Thursday to put off until 2026 a trial in Washington on charges that the former president plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The suggested April 2026 date is a dramatic counter to the Justice Department's recommendation last week that the trial should begin Jan. 2, 2024. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is expected to oppose the Trump team’s request, which seeks to put off his trial until nearly a year and a half after the 2024 presidential election, in which Trump is currently the early front-runner for the Republican nomination.The question is ultimately up to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is expected to set at least a tentative trial date during an Aug. 28 court hearing.In a court filing Thursday evening, Trump's lawyers say the years-long delay is warranted because of the “massive” amount of information — prosecutors have already produced more than 11.5 million pages — they have to review and because of scheduling conflicts with the other criminal cases Trump is facing.As it stands, they said they would have to review about 100,000 pages per day in order to meet the Justice Department's proposed date for jury selection.“If we were to print and stack 11.5 million pages of documents, with no gap between pages, at 200 pages per inch, the result would be a tower of paper stretching nearly 5,000 feet into the sky. That is taller than the Washington Monument, stacked on top of itself eight times, with nearly a million pages to spare,” the defense lawyers wrote.They also contend that the case concerns unprecedented questions that will take time to sort out. A four-count indictment issued this month, with charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, accuses Trump of working to subvert the results of the election in a futile attempt to cling to power.“No president has ever been charged with a crime for conduct committed while in office. No major party presidential candidate has ever been charged while in the middle of a campaign — and certainly not by a Justice Department serving his opponent,” the lawyers wrote. “These and numerous other issues will be questions of first impression, requiring significant time for the parties to consider and brief, and for the Court to resolve.”Trump's 2024 calendar was already expected to be packed with court dates and campaign appearances.He is confronting both a presidential primary season and four criminal cases in four different cities. Next March 25, he is set for trial in a New York state case related to an alleged hush money payment to a porn actor. Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, where Trump was charged earlier this week with trying to undo the results of that state's presidential election, have proposed a March 4 trial date — though that is likely to slip given the complexity of a sprawling racketeering case that involves 19 defendants.And a federal judge in Florida has set a May 20 trial date on charges that Trump illegally hoarded classified documents and concealed them from investigators.“President Trump must prepare for each of these trials in the coming months. All are independently complex and will require substantial work to defend. Several will likely require President Trump’s presence at some or all trial proceedings,” the defense lawyers wrote, adding that the cases would involve pre- and post-trial hearings that will conflict with prosecutors' proposed trial calendar.Meanwhile on Thursday night, Trump said he was canceling plans for a press conference next week to unveil what he claims is new evidence of fraud in the 2020 election in Georgia, citing the advice of lawyers.

Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a federal judge Thursday to put off until 2026 a trial in Washington on charges that the former president plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The suggested April 2026 date is a dramatic counter to the Justice Department's recommendation last week that the trial should begin Jan. 2, 2024. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is expected to oppose the Trump team’s request, which seeks to put off his trial until nearly a year and a half after the 2024 presidential election, in which Trump is currently the early front-runner for the Republican nomination.

The question is ultimately up to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is expected to set at least a tentative trial date during an Aug. 28 court hearing.

In a court filing Thursday evening, Trump's lawyers say the years-long delay is warranted because of the “massive” amount of information — prosecutors have already produced more than 11.5 million pages — they have to review and because of scheduling conflicts with the other criminal cases Trump is facing.

As it stands, they said they would have to review about 100,000 pages per day in order to meet the Justice Department's proposed date for jury selection.

“If we were to print and stack 11.5 million pages of documents, with no gap between pages, at 200 pages per inch, the result would be a tower of paper stretching nearly 5,000 feet into the sky. That is taller than the Washington Monument, stacked on top of itself eight times, with nearly a million pages to spare,” the defense lawyers wrote.

They also contend that the case concerns unprecedented questions that will take time to sort out. A four-count indictment issued this month, with charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, accuses Trump of working to subvert the results of the election in a futile attempt to cling to power.

“No president has ever been charged with a crime for conduct committed while in office. No major party presidential candidate has ever been charged while in the middle of a campaign — and certainly not by a Justice Department serving his opponent,” the lawyers wrote. “These and numerous other issues will be questions of first impression, requiring significant time for the parties to consider and brief, and for the Court to resolve.”

Trump's 2024 calendar was already expected to be packed with court dates and campaign appearances.

He is confronting both a presidential primary season and four criminal cases in four different cities. Next March 25, he is set for trial in a New York state case related to an alleged hush money payment to a porn actor. Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, where Trump was charged earlier this week with trying to undo the results of that state's presidential election, have proposed a March 4 trial date — though that is likely to slip given the complexity of a sprawling racketeering case that involves 19 defendants.

And a federal judge in Florida has set a May 20 trial date on charges that Trump illegally hoarded classified documents and concealed them from investigators.

“President Trump must prepare for each of these trials in the coming months. All are independently complex and will require substantial work to defend. Several will likely require President Trump’s presence at some or all trial proceedings,” the defense lawyers wrote, adding that the cases would involve pre- and post-trial hearings that will conflict with prosecutors' proposed trial calendar.

Meanwhile on Thursday night, Trump said he was canceling plans for a press conference next week to unveil what he claims is new evidence of fraud in the 2020 election in Georgia, citing the advice of lawyers.

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