Donald Trump to Stand Trial in Federal Court for Alleged Election Fraud: Updates on 2024 Presidential Election

US presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks in Des Moines, Iowa

by Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump will stand trial from March 24, 2024 in federal court in Washington for his alleged efforts to reverse his defeat to Democratic rival Joe Biden in the November presidential election. 2020, a federal judge decided on Monday.

The move bodes a complicated timeline for the former real estate mogul, who has ambitions to return to the White House and is the frontrunner in the Republican Party’s nomination race for the November 2024 presidential election.

It also makes it likely that Donald Trump will face three separate criminal trials in parallel with his election campaign. A date for a fourth criminal trial has not yet been set.

Donald Trump will thus appear in Washington on the eve of “Super Tuesday”, a decisive day in the primaries, during which Republican voters in more than a dozen states – including Maine and California – will vote for the name of the candidate of the party in the presidential election.

The first American president to be criminally charged, he also became, during his arrest in Georgia, the first tenant of the White House to have a mug shot.

Donald Trump’s legal setbacks have not affected his status as a favorite in the race for the Republican nomination for the November 2024 presidential election. On the contrary, his popularity rating with the Republican electorate seems to have been reinforced, the polls placing him well ahead of his rivals for the party nomination.

Donald Trump’s lawyers were calling for the Washington trial to open in April 2026, long after the election, saying they needed time to go through the some 12 million pages detailing the evidence collected by the US government against their client.

TRUMP “WILL HAVE TO ACCOMODATE” WITH THE CALENDAR

But District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled on Monday that such a long delay was unnecessary. “The public has the right to a prompt and effective resolution of this matter,” she said further.

The move comes days after Donald Trump was formally arrested and subsequently released on bail by Georgia state authorities on charges of criminal association to subvert the election results in this crucial state, where he was narrowly beaten by Joe Biden.

Donald Trump, 77, denies any misconduct and describes the various lawsuits against him as a politically motivated “witch hunt”. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, denouncing Washington a “persecution” against him.

The former television presenter is due to appear on March 25 in New York for concealing payments made to a former porn actress.

Another federal trial against him is due to open on May 20, 2024 in Florida in the case of classified documents that he allegedly kept illegally after his departure from the White House in January 2021.

No date has yet been set for his trial in Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has requested that the trial begin on March 4, but Judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision could affect that schedule.

Tanya Chutkan said Monday that she would consult with the New York court to make sure to avoid potential scheduling conflicts. “Mr. Trump will have to live with the trial date, no matter what schedule it has,” she said.

Donald Trump, who was not present at the hearing, in which his participation was optional, strongly criticized Tanya Chutkan in the past, denouncing without proof her bias to her detriment. The judge warned Trump to stop posting inflammatory comments online about witnesses and others in the case.

(Reporting Sarah N. Lynch; French version Jean Terzian, editing by Zhifan Liu)

2023-08-28 16:47:31


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