Judge poised to set trial date in Trump’s federal Jan. 6 case

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan Monday rejected proposed trial dates offered by both prosecutors and former President Donald Trump as she prepared to set a tentative starting time for his federal election interference case

As a high-stakes hearing got underway in Washington, D.C., Chutkan warned Trump’s defense that she would consider the public’s interest in a speedy trial as well as the ex-president’s right to properly prepare for a trial.

Chutkan also repeated her insistence that she would not alter the trial schedule to accommodate Trump’s campaign for president.

It’s unclear when Chutkan will announce a trial date.

Special counsel Jack Smith had asked Chutkan to set a Jan. 2 trial date while Trump’s defense team countered by insisting he needs until April 2026 to prepare.

Chutkan was picked at random to hear the case after a federal grand jury indicted Trump on charges tied to his alleged effort to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

Smith’s prosecutors say Trump should face trial as quickly as possible to hold him to account because of the historic nature of the case in which Trump is accused of being the first president to refuse to hand over power peacefully.

Trump‘s attorneys assert that the mountain of evidence in the case call for a lengthy delay. He also says the trial should not take place before Americans vote in the 2024 election.

Trump himself has repeatedly denounced the case and other legal woes as part of a partisan witch hunt aimed at keeping him from winning a comeback bid for the White House

Trump did not attend the hearing at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse. It sits just a stone’s throw away from the Capitol where the violent mob of Trump supporters sought to block Congress from certifying President Biden’s win on Jan. 6.

Chutkan, who has already received death threats in connection with the case, previously warned Trump against intimidating witnesses, prosecutors or court officials.

Trump faces another election interference case in Georgia state court. He has also been charged in federal court with mishandling classified documents that he took to his Florida resort home after leaving office as well as state charges tied to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.s.

The legal issues have created a courtroom logjam for Trump.

The Manhattan trial is scheduled to start in March, and the classified documents trial is set for May.

Trump was booked in the Georgia case and had a mug shot taken on Thursday. He will be arraigned on Sept. 6 along with 18 co-defendants in the sprawling case that has been charged as a racketeering conspiracy.