They are the new unwitting actors in American politics. Their responsibility is huge, their decisions have consequences. In charge of federal or local investigations directed against Donald Trump, a four-time defendant and big favorite in the Republican primary, judges wield an important power: control over the calendar. On Monday, August 28, Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington announced her desire not to drag out the case. She rejected requests from the former president’s lawyers, an instruction dated January 6, 2021, and an attempt to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power. The latter hoped that the trial would be postponed to 2026, that is, much later than the presidential election. Special Counsel Jack Smith made a bet on January 2024. The judge almost satisfied him, setting the date for the opening of the case to March 4, 2024.
Spring 2024 promises to be a controversial and explosive time in the United States. This date closer to March 4 is symbolic due to the inevitable clash of political and judicial calendars. If confirmed – after various remedies promised by Donald Trump’s lawyers – the trial will begin the day before Super Tuesday, that famous Tuesday that decides the nomination race. A dozen primaries will be held at the same time, from California to Massachusetts through Texas.
Iowa and New Hampshire will open official competition from mid-January 2024. That’s when the second libel lawsuit filed against Donald Trump by former press columnist E. Jean Carroll will open. A New York jury in May calculated that the ex-president was responsible for the 1996 sexual assault of the latter and should pay him $5 million (4.62 million euros).
The possible length of the January 6 trial is unknown. But starting March 25, 2024, Donald Trump will be expected in New York for another trial: the payment of money to former X Movies actress Stormy Daniels, then hidden in his campaign accounts in 2016. Then, in May, December 20, 2024, the trial of Donald Trump may begin in the case of the secret archives that he took when he left the White House and hid from the federal authorities demanding their restitution.
The date of his trial in Georgia has not yet been set.
This court chronology is still missing an important date – a trial in Georgia on charges of criminal activity in order to manipulate the result of the presidential election. Prosecutor Fanny Willis suggested a date of October 23 in seven weeks. Donald Trump’s lawyers are fighting to delay the presidential election.
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