Judge Sets Trump Court Date On Super Tuesday Eve

Former President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly asserted that the criminal charges against him are a form of politically motivated election interference.

That argument was seemingly bolstered this week when the judge overseeing his federal indictment in D.C. set a trial date for the case.

Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has already attracted criticism for perceived evidence of bias against Trump, chose March 4 as the date the trial will begin. This is particularly noteworthy in the context of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign because the following day is Super Tuesday, when the greatest number of states will vote in their respective primary elections. 

The judge insisted that giving both sides more than six months to prepare is “far beyond what is necessary,” though Trump’s legal team stressed the complexity of the case, which includes 37 criminal counts related to his response to the 2020 presidential election outcome.

Defense attorney John Lauro asserted: “This is an enormous, overwhelming task.”

He went on to call the entire ordeal a “show trial,” emphasizing the fact that Trump’s “liberty and life is at stake.”

The March 4 trial date is just the first in a string of court appearances already scheduled in connection to the four indictments filed against Trump. Later the same month, he is set to appear in a New York courtroom to stand trial on charges that he authorized an improper hush money payment ahead of the 2016 election. Less than two months after that, a trial in Florida related to allegations of illegal possession of classified documents is set to begin.

Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutors have not yet settled on a trial date for charges in that jurisdiction.

The start date for the federal case has sparked widespread speculation that Chutkan is determined to derail Trump’s White House bid. 

In any case, it seems inevitable at this point that Trump will spend much of the election season fighting criminal charges instead of his GOP primary rivals.

Former Republican National Committee spokesperson Doug Heye said that the situation emphasizes the importance of a strong performance in early primary dates.

“I get the conversation going into overdrive about Super Tuesday,” he said. “But if Trump wins Iowa and New Hampshire, then electorally, in the primary, there’s no impact because it’s locked up at that point. I think this highlights the importance of Iowa.”