Trump's Lawyers, Look to Push Election Interference , Trial Back to 2026.
Politico reports that Donald Trump's legal team has filed court papers requesting a 2.5-year delay before choosing a jury, citing the extraordinary circumstances of the case.
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Among those circumstances is over 11.5 million pages of evidence that prosecutors turned over earlier in August.
Trump lawyers John Lauro and Todd Blanche's request for an April 2026 trial date sharply contrasts prosecutors' ambitious call for the trial to start in January of 2024.
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The defense's request gives U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who said she will set a trial date by August 28, a critical choice to make.
Trump's legal team also noted the unprecedented nature of the former president being prosecuted by a Justice Department led by his political rivals.
In this District, ordinary order when faced with such overwhelming discovery is to set a reasonable trial schedule, commensurate with the size and scope of discovery and complexity of the legal issues, John Lauro and Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's legal team, via Politico.
The government rejects this sensible approach.
Instead, it seeks a trial calendar more rapid than most no-document misdemeanors, requesting just four months from the beginning of discovery to jury selection, John Lauro and Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's legal team, via Politico.
However, there is a possibility that Trump could be back in the White House by the suggested start date.
This means that Trump could appoint an attorney general who could dismiss the charges, or he could issue himself a presidential pardon.
Trump has been charged by special counsel Jack Smith with three conspiracies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
