Trump’s Jan. 6 trial judge fears delay could cancel overseas trip

D.C. federal judge Tanya Chutkan dropped a subtle hint Monday that former President Donald Trump’s soon-to-be rescheduled trial in the 2020 election subversion case could take place after he becomes the nominee. Republican Party for 2024.

During a conference on a separate case, Chutkan revealed that he intended to be out of the country later this year, before suggesting that Trump’s trial could thwart those plans.

“I hope I’m not in the country on August 5,” Politico reported Chutkan as saying, before adding that that would change if “I’m on trial for another matter that hasn’t yet returned to my calendar.”

Last week, Chutkan formally abandoned the March 4 trial start date that had initially been set for Trump’s 2020 election case.

The Republican National Convention, which would officially crown Trump the party’s nominee if he wins the primary, is scheduled to take place July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Tanya Chutkan indicated that Donald Trump’s trial could take place well into 2024. Getty Images

Separately, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been seeking an August 5 start for the trial of Trump and 14 others accused of trying to illegally change the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

The federal case against Trump has been put on hold while the D.C. appeals court considers an argument by the 77-year-old’s lawyers that he is immune from the charges because they concern official actions he took while president.

Even if the D.C. court rules against Trump, he will likely appeal the case to the Supreme Court, further delaying the case.

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Donald Trump is also juggling civil cases, including the fallout from the E. Jean Carroll defamation verdict and the sprawling New York corporate fraud case. US District Court for/AFP via Getty Images Jack Smith is leading the Justice Department’s prosecution of both the 2020 election and Mar-a-Lago classified documents cases. MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Trump’s legal team also argues that the House’s impeachment of Trump in connection with the January 6, 2021, riot means that special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution amounts to double jeopardy.

Last month, Trump’s team unsuccessfully tried to get Chutkan to hold Smith’s team in contempt for filing court filings despite a stay the judge imposed while the immunity argument played out.

Chutkan, an Obama-appointed judge, has said she will set a new trial start date “if and when” the immunity issue is decided by the higher courts.

Donald Trump is not happy with the avalanche of criminal charges against him. REUTERS

Trump faces a total of 91 criminal charges against him spanning four separate allegations.

The 45th president has strenuously denied wrongdoing in all of them and has pleaded not guilty.

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Source: vtt.edu.vn

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