The trial of former US President Donald Trump in connection with attempted electoral fraud in Washington is scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024. Judge Tanya Chutkan set the date at a hearing in the US capital, according to court documents released later.
It is one of four trials facing the Republican presidential candidate. The 77-year-old has also been charged with various allegations in New York, Miami and Atlanta.
Trump is the first ex-president in US history to face criminal charges. Federal charges have been brought against him in Washington for his efforts to retrospectively overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Trump lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden at the time, but to this day he has not admitted his defeat. Instead, Trump then tried in various ways to turn the election result later. His campaign against the outcome of the election culminated in an unprecedented violent attack by his supporters on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Charge: conspiracy against the United States
The indictment charged Trump with four formal charges, including conspiracy against the United States. If convicted, he could face a long prison sentence.
Prosecutors originally suggested early January 2024 as the start date for the trial. Trump’s defenders, on the other hand, had campaigned for a start in April 2026 – long after the election year.
In the US, a new president will be elected in early November 2024. Trump wants to run again for the Republicans. In order to ultimately become the party’s presidential candidate, he must first prevail in internal primaries that begin in January 2024. On March 5, 2024, one day after the date now set, the so-called “Super Tuesday” is coming up in the USA – the most important primary election day with votes in various states. So far, Trump is far ahead of all other Republican presidential hopefuls in polls.
Three more charges against Trump
Trump has three more charges to deal with in the middle of his campaign – and three more court cases. In the state of Georgia, charges of attempted election interference were brought against Trump and 18 other suspects. In Georgia, Trump narrowly lost to Biden in the 2020 presidential election. At the time, the Republican had focused on Georgia and several other states in his attempts to reverse the outcome of the election. It is still unclear when a process could start in Atlanta. The formal indictment reading is scheduled there for the coming week.
Trump has also been charged in New York and Miami. The New York case is related to hush money payments to a porn star – the trial there is scheduled to begin on March 25, 2024. The case in Miami revolves around the storage of top-secret government documents in Trump’s private estate – the court case is scheduled to start on May 20, 2024.
Trump denies all allegations and sees the prosecution against him as an attempt by his political opponents to prevent him from another term. According to experts, a conviction would not legally prevent the Republican from running in the November 2024 election – especially since it is highly questionable whether a final judgment will be available by then.
