Prosecutors Ask for Jan. 2 Trial Date in Trump Election Interference Case

Prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge on Thursday to begin former President Donald Trump's trial on Jan. 2 in the case accusing him of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss.

If U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan accepts the proposal, the trial of the early front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination would open shortly before the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which was fueled by Trump's false claims about the election. It would also begin just under two weeks before Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses, set for Jan. 15.

In their filing, prosecutors said they want the case to move quickly through Washington's federal court. The government expects to need no more than four to six weeks to present its evidence. The request sets up a probable clash with Trump's attorneys, who have already hinted they will try to slow the proceedings. They have not yet offered a trial date of their own.

"A January 2 trial date would vindicate the public's strong interest in a speedy trial," prosecutors wrote, calling that interest one guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law. They argued it carries special weight here because the defendant is a former president charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election, obstruct its certification and discount citizens' legitimate votes. Chutkan is expected to set the date at a hearing scheduled for Aug. 28.

The calendar is already crowded for Trump. A criminal trial in New York over hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign is set for March 25. He is due to stand trial in May in a separate case brought by Smith over his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Washington indictment charges Trump with several counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. Prosecutors describe a weekslong effort to subvert the will of voters and hold on to power after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. They say he spread claims of election fraud that he knew were false, and pressured Vice President Mike Pence and state election officials to act on his behalf.

The indictment also alleges Trump tried to enlist slates of fake electors in seven battleground states won by Biden, who would sign false certificates presenting themselves as legitimate. It says he sought to use the Justice Department's investigative power to open sham fraud probes. When those efforts failed, prosecutors say, he pressed Pence to disrupt the ceremonial counting of electoral votes in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, the day a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol.

Trump pleaded not guilty last week. He says he is innocent and calls the investigation politically motivated. His legal team has signaled it will argue that he relied on the advice of lawyers around him in 2020 and had the right to challenge an election he believed was rigged. Trump has also said he will seek to move the case out of Washington, claiming he cannot get a fair trial in a heavily Democratic city that voted overwhelmingly for Biden. Judges find it extremely difficult to accept that a jury pool is too biased to hold a trial, and Washington judges, Chutkan among them, have repeatedly turned down similar requests from Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6 attack.

An early sign of the legal fight ahead is a dispute over a protective order governing how Trump's lawyers may use evidence turned over by the government. Such orders are common and usually draw little argument. Prosecutors want to bar Trump and his attorneys from publicly disclosing the material, pointing to his habit of posting about his cases on social media and warning that he could share sensitive information that might intimidate witnesses. Trump's lawyers call that proposal too broad and a threat to his First Amendment rights, and they want an order limited to information deemed "sensitive," such as grand jury materials. Chutkan is expected to hold a hearing on the matter on Friday.

Trump is also preparing for a possible fourth indictment, this one in Fulton County, Georgia, over alleged efforts by him and Republican allies to illegally interfere in the 2020 election there. District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, has indicated any charges would likely come this month.