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WASHINGTON — Prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith’s office on Thursday proposed a Jan. 2 trial for Donald Trump’s trial on charges that he engaged in a criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
In papers filed in Washington federal court, the prosecutors said that it’s in the public interest to have a trial in the case as soon as practicable, and that their proposed date “serves the public’s interest and the interests of justice, while also protecting the defendant’s rights and ability to prepare for trial.”
A “January 2 trial date would vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial — an interest guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law in all cases, but of particular significance here, where the defendant, a former president, is charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens’ legitimate votes,” the filing said.
Prosecutors estimated that the “case in chief will take no longer than four to six weeks.”
If the judge signs off on that date, that could affect Trump’s ability to campaign ahead of the Iowa caucus, which is scheduled for Jan. 15, and could keep him away from the trail for the entire early state window: New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
Trump’s attorneys have been directed to propose their own trial date and estimate for the length of the trial by next Thursday. In an interview last week with NBC’s “TODAY,” Trump lawyer John Lauro declined to say explicitly whether the case should go to trial ahead of the 2024 election, but suggested that was the case.
He said Smith’s office at that point was seeking a trial within 70 days, while it’s had “three-and-a-half years” to investigate the case.
“Why don’t we make it equal?” Lauro said.
Prosecutors said in their filing that “Not only is this claim impossible, as January 6, 2021, was two and a half years ago, but it is disingenuous,” adding that “the defendant and his counsel have long been aware of details of the Government’s investigation leading to his indictment, having had first contact with Government counsel in June 2022.”
Trump, the filing continued, “has a greater and more detailed understanding of the evidence supporting the charges against him at the outset of this criminal case than most defendants, and is ably advised by multiple attorneys, including some who have represented him in this matter for the last year.”
Lauro said in court last week he’d need more information from the government about the scope of their evidence in the case before he could know how much time it would take to prepare for their defense.
In their Thursday filing, prosecutors said they expect Trump’s team will have “substantially” all of the evidence in the case turned over to them before Aug. 28.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has said she plans to set a trial date on the 28th after reviewing both the prosecution and defense proposals.
In addition to the political calendar, a January trial date would affect Trump’s court calendar. Writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against him is scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 15.
He also has one other civil trial and two criminal trials currently scheduled between January and May of next year.
Daniel Barnes reported from Washington, and Dareh Gregorian from New York.
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