• US Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday set March 4, 2024 — one day before Super Tuesday, when 15 states are slated to hold GOP primaries or caucuses — as the start date for former Pres. Donald Trump’s trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• The Washington, D.C., district judge found that neither the April 2026 trial date proposed by the Trump camp nor the Jan. 2, 2024, proposed by the US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) were “acceptable.” Forbes (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• This comes as special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump on August 1 on four counts related to actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots — including conspiring to defraud the US, obstructing an official proceeding, and conspiring against the rights of voters. Wall Street Journal (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• Both sides estimate they would need up to six weeks each to present their cases. The federal trial is also set to start three weeks before Trump’s hush money trial is scheduled to begin in Manhattan. New York Post (LR: 5 CP: 5)
• Trump is due to stand a third trial in Florida on May 20 on federal charges related to illegally retaining classified records and trying to obstruct justice. A trial date in the Fulton Co. Georgia case — the fourth criminal case he is facing — also stems from his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and has yet to be scheduled. Reuters (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• While these four separate criminal cases pose logistical challenges for his campaign for another four years in the White House, poll numbers for the undisputed frontrunner in the 2024 GOP field have risen with each indictment. FT

Pro-Trump narrative:

• As the eve of Super Tuesday had previously been proposed as the start date for the Georgia case against Donald Trump, it’s clear that these criminal cases are part of a Biden administration plan to interfere with the 2024 election to prevent Trump from winning back the White House. Additionally, the March 4, 2024 date makes it impossible for Trump’s lawyers to provide adequate defense in this case.
  PJ Media (LR: 4 CP: 4)

Anti-Trump narrative:

• The delaying strategy of Trump’s legal team has gone wrong as Judge Chutkan reaffirmed the primacy of the legal system over political scheduling. He and his allies may cry election interference but, like any defendant in this country, Trump will have to make the trial date work despite his personal and professional obligations. After all, the public deserves a prompt and efficient resolution on such a serious case.
  New Yorker (LR: 1 CP: 5)

Nerd narrative:

• There’s a 90% chance that prediction markets will say Donald Trump is the most likely Republican nominee for President on January 1, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)