Lawyers for former US President Donald Trump have proposed April 2026 as the date for his trial on state charges accusing him of interfering in the 2020 US presidential election and falsifying related business records.
The plea comes as lead prosecutor Jack Smith is trying to start the trial on January 2.
It is one of four criminal cases Trump is now dealing with during his campaign for the White House.
Trump’s proposal came after Georgia prosecutor Fannie Willis offered a March 2024 trial date.
“The public interest lies in fairness and a fair trial, not a rush to judgment,” Trump’s lawyers said in their filing.
Lawyers said it would take months to process the amount of documents in the case.
“Assuming we can begin reviewing documents today, we need to move at a pace of 99,762 pages per day to finish the government’s initial production by its proposed date for jury selection,” he said. will be needed.”
“This is the complete coverage of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, 78 times a day, every day, from now until jury selection.”
Also, Judge Tanya Chitkin is scheduled to decide the trial date on August 28.
“The government’s proposed (Jan. 2) trial date represents an appropriate balance of the defendant’s right to prepare a defense and the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial,” Smith said of the January start in court. He said while demanding.
The case is the most serious of four criminal investigations that have led to dozens of felony charges against Trump, including allegations that he violated campaign finance laws by concealing payments to a porn star. tried to.
The government also accuses Trump of misusing classified documents, including military strategy and nuclear secrets, that he stole from the White House when he left office and with his aides. Conspired to hide these documents from the investigators.
In an effort to curb Trump’s apparent political influence, Smith was appointed by Joe Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland as special counsel in the federal election conspiracy case.
Trump and his team have called the prosecution politically biased.
“The current administration has targeted his primary political rival — and a leading candidate in the upcoming presidential election — with criminal prosecutions,” his lawyers said in Thursday’s filing.
Two more Trump trials are scheduled to begin in March and May, respectively, at the state level in New York and at the federal level in Florida before the November 2024 election.
However, his Georgia election fraud charges have yet to have a trial date set.
