The prosecution in the case against former U.S. President Donald Trump, regarding allegations of election manipulation in the state of Georgia, has requested that the trial begin on March 4, 2024.
The defense team is likely to seek a later date, as the 77-year-old Republican billionaire faces four criminal trials amidst his 2024 presidential campaign.
If the court agrees to the proposed date, hearings would commence on the eve of “Super Tuesday”, a significant day when over 12 states cast their votes in the Republican primaries to decide the party’s nominee for the 2024 elections. This would be just eight days before Georgia’s voting day.
On Monday, charges of “extortion” and several other crimes were levied against Trump, following an extensive two-year investigation into his efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia.
The Attorney General of Atlanta, Georgia’s capital, Fani Willis, directed several charges towards 18 individuals connected with the alleged conspiracy. This list includes Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows.
In the document where Willis requests the trial date, she mentions, “Considering other criminal and civil cases pending against defendant Donald John Trump in other courts, Georgia proposes specific final dates that don’t conflict with already scheduled hearings and trial dates in these other courts.”
Willis also requested the first procedural session for the defendants to be held in the week commencing September 5.
While Trump did not immediately respond to Willis’ document, he highlighted posts on his social media platform, “Truth Social”, accusing the Democrat Willis of financially supporting her party’s causes.
Trump’s schedule is packed with legal hearings, including a fraud case set for October in a civil court and two other civil cases in January. One of them begins on the 15th, coinciding with the start of the Republican primary voting in Iowa.
While Trump’s attendance in the civil cases isn’t mandatory, the prosecution requested that his criminal court trial concerning the conspiracy to reverse the 2020 election results commence on January 2nd.