The request from lawyers for former President Donald Trump to push his federal trial over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election to 2026 could provide relief as the former president focuses on other trials and the 2024 election campaign. It all starts with the first Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, Aug. 23.
Trump is one of eight candidates who have qualified for the debate. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez claimed to have qualified on Friday, Aug. 18, but that has yet to be confirmed.
As for Trump, he will not be participating in the debate. Instead, a prerecorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is expected to be released on debate day.
The debate comes as Trump opened up a 46-point lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to a CBS poll released over the weekend of Aug. 19. Straight Arrow News’ Ray Bogan spoke with a polling expert who was not surprised by Trump planning to no-show.
“Usually when you’re far ahead, the general rule of thumb is avoid confrontation at all costs,” Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said. “It’s going to be very difficult for these other candidates to make Donald Trump look weak if he’s not there on the stage with them to respond.”
Two days after the debate is the deadline for Trump and 18 other defendants in the Georgia racketeering indictment to turn themselves in. The indictment was announced Monday, Aug. 14.
While this case also has to do with the 2020 election, it’s currently a state case focusing specifically on alleged actions to overturn the election results in Georgia. However, as a RICO expert told Straight Arrow News, that may not be the case by the time the trial comes around.
“As an officer of the United States being charged with a violation of the law of the state of Georgia, under concepts of federalism, an officer of the United States can, on motion, require the case to be transferred to the United States district court,” Buddy Parker, a partner at Maloy Jenkins Parker, said.
In 2024, Jan. 2 is the Justice Department’s recommended start date for the federal trial over the 2020 election. That’s more than two full years earlier than the timeline Trump’s lawyers requested.
In their request, Trump’s lawyers cited scheduling conflicts and a “massive” amount of information from prosecutors that they have to review. They also contended a case of such an unprecedented nature will present issues that take time to sort out.
“No president has ever been charged with a crime for conduct committed while in office. No major party presidential candidate has ever been charged while in the middle of a campaign — and certainly not by a Justice Department serving his opponent,” the lawyers wrote. “These and numerous other issues will be questions of first impression, requiring significant time for the parties to consider and brief, and for the court to resolve.”
A decision on when the trial will start was expected to be made at an Aug. 28 hearing.
Jan. 15 officially kicks off the Republican primary season with the Iowa caucuses. Top candidates, including Trump, have already descended upon the Hawkeye State to make their case.
“I guess we’re up 50 points in Iowa, five-oh, we’re up tremendously in Iowa and every place else,” Trump said earlier in August. “We did a job for Iowa that nobody could do differently. I mean, we have, you take a look at the kind of money, we took $28 billion from China, I gave that to our farmers all over the country, so they like Trump and I like them.”
March 4 is the date Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants the Georgia trial to begin. This is likely to be pushed back, however, given the complexity of the case and the number of defendants involved.
By the time the trial begins, Willis may not even be district attorney anymore. A state senator in Georgia has called for a special session to investigate Willis.
A day after Willis wants Trump’s Georgia trial to begin is Super Tuesday, the biggest day of the primary election campaign season. Voters in 14 states will go to the polls on the same night.
Typically, even if the nominee isn’t decided by the end of Super Tuesday, the field is whittled down significantly.
Later in March, another trial is set to get underway. March 25 is when Trump is expected to stand trial over hush money payments sent to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump has been accused of falsifying business records related to the payments. Last week, the judge in the case refused a Trump legal team request to recuse himself from the trial.
May 20 is the projected day Trump’s classified documents federal trial is set to begin. The date was a compromise between the Justice Department, who wanted the trial to start in December, and Trump’s legal team, who wanted it to start after the 2024 election.
If Trump’s election campaign continues to dominate the GOP field for president despite his trials, he should have a busy summer ahead of him in 2024. He is likely to officially secure the Republican nomination at the national convention July 15-18. Then it would be on to Nov. 5, where America could see a 2020 rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden.
