John Lauro, #attorney for #Trump, blasted the federal #prosecutors’ arguments for an earlier #TrialDate in DC as “absurd” & “unfair”.
“This is a request for a show trial, not a speedy trial. I’m sorry, your honor; for a federal prosecutor to suggest that we could go on trial in 4 months is not only absurd, it’s a violation of the oath to do justice” #Lauro fumed.
As Lauro’s voice rose, Judge Tanya #Chutkan sought to calm him. “Let’s take the temperature down,” she twice advised the #lawyer.
#Lauro argued that he needed ample time to review the #evidence & prepare a #defense for #Trump.
“This man’s liberty & life is at stake & he deserves an adequate representation,” Lauro said. “As an experienced defense #lawyer, we cannot do this in the time frame that the government has outlined.”
#Chutkan replied: “I understand, Mr. Lauro but you are not going to get two more years. This case is not going to trial in 2026.”
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice
#Federal #prosecutor Molly #Gaston said her team has already produced most of the #DC case’s #discovery — pretrial #evidence given to the #defense before #trial. Much of the 10 million pages is from “entities associated w/the #defendant,” Gaston said, including #tweets & #Trump #PAC & campaign documents. That means in theory the defense could review it relatively quickly.
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice
Judge #Chutkan said she didn’t think #Trump’s #legal team or #prosecutors proposed a reasonable start date for the federal #trial in the DC case.
Trump’s lawyers proposed April 2026.
Federal prosecutors proposed Jan 2024.
“Neither of them is acceptable,” Chutkan said from the bench.
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice
Judge Chutkan said each of the proposed schedules falls outside D.C. federal courthouse norms — & timelines for federal trials in general. She also expressed skepticism about the claims of #Trump’s #lawyers that they need >2years to read & analyze all the #evidence at issue in the #trial.
“Counsel is not #entitled to unlimited preparation time; #counsel is entitled to reasonable preparation time,” #Chutkan said.
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice
#Trump #lawyer John Lauro, in arguing that he needs 2 years to prepare for the DC #federal #charges against his client, said there are 250 potential govt #witnesses “and counting” so far.
#Lauro noted that figure doesn’t incl any potential #defense witnesses, & efforts by Trump’s legal team to conduct their own investigation.
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice
“Mr. #Trump is not above the law, but he is not below the law. He should not be treated differently than any other person that appears before your honor,” #Lauro said.
Judge #Chutkan looked & sounded skeptical of many of Lauro’s arguments. “You & I have a very very different estimate of the time that is needed to prepare for this case,” she said.
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice
#Prosecutor Molly Gaston just told Judge #Chutkan that the DC #ElectionObstruction case against #Trump should happen “as soon as possible” because TFG has been posting on #SocialMedia on a near-daily basis about the case & talking about #witnesses & #evidence, among other things.
“This potentially #prejudices the #jury pool,” #Gaston said. “And so under the #SpeedyTrialAct, Your Honor, we need to find a time for trial as soon as the #defense can reasonably be ready.”
Her appeal echoes a concern that #Chutkan raised at an Aug. 11 #hearing in the case. She indicated then that #Trump’s public statements — which are unusual in a #federal #criminal case, & the type of behavior that tends to anger judges — suggest that the #trial should happen quickly to avoid WitnessTampering & #influencing potential #jurors.
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice #ElectionObstruction
Judge Tanya #Chutkan says she will take a short #recess of 5 to 10 minutes, & come back with a #TrialDate for #Trump’s #DC #ElectionObstruction case.
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice
#Trump's #DC #federal #trial is #scheduled for March 4, 2024.
#Jan6 #ElectionInterference #Conspiracy #law #legal #justice #ElectionObstruction
The March 4, 2024 #TrialDate Judge #Chutkan set potentially conflicts w/ 2 other #Trump trials that month.
The DA in #FultonCounty, #Georgia, has proposed the same trial date.
The trial in #Manhattan, in which Trump has been accused of >30 #felonies connected to #HushMoney payments to a porn actress, is set to go to trial on Mar 25.
While Judge #Chutkan noted that she had already spoken to the judge in the Manhattan case, the fact that 3 of the 4 #criminal cases confronting #Trump could go before separate #juries in separate cities w/in weeks of one another reflects the extraordinary nature of the Trump’s #legal (or rather illegal) situation.
Nonilex