Trump Vows to Appeal After DC Judge Sets Trial Date Amid Busy Primary Season…
Former President Donald Trump lashed out at a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday after she set a trial date for his Jan. 6 case in the middle of the GOP primary season.
In addition, the 45th president and current Republican presidential leader also vowed to appeal the date, March 5, which, perhaps not so ironically, falls one day before the Super Tuesday primaries, the UK’s Daily Mail reported.
Trump blasted U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan after his lawyers failed to persuade her to put the trial off until after the 2024 elections, citing an avalanche of evidence they must review. In addition, he ripped into special counsel Jack Smith as he vowed to file an appeal, though it’s not clear what he plans to challenge by his post, the Daily Mail noted.
“Deranged Jack Smith & his team of Thugs, who were caught going to the White House just prior to Indicting the 45th President of the United States (an absolute No No!), have been working on this Witch Hunt for almost 3 years, but decided to bring it smack in the middle of Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent’s campaign against him,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump’s attorney, John Lauro, protested the trial date but told Chutkan that his client would abide by it.
A spokesperson for the former president echoed his line of attack, claiming that Chutkan was depriving Trump of his constitutional rights and accusing federal prosecutors of acting on behalf of President Joe Biden.
“Crooked Joe Biden, Deranged Jack Smith, and their henchmen continue to abuse the American justice system in their goal of interfering in the 2024 Presidential Election in order to prevent President Trump from returning to the Oval Office,” said a spokesperson. “The date set today deprives President Trump of his constitutional right to a fair trial, a seminal bedrock of America, and continues to expose the corruption of the witch hunts being thrown against President Trump.
“From setting a trial date for the day before ‘Super Tuesday’ to sending a fundraising email the moment of President Trump’s processing in Fulton County, the Biden regime is no longer hiding its nakedly political motivations,” the spokesperson added. “President Trump will not be deterred, he will fight these hoaxes at every turn, and will win for the American people.”
Lauro sought a 2026 trial date, but Chutkan flat-out refused after the Trump attorney said his client plans to accuse the government of “selective prosecution” at the whim of Trump’s principal political rival, Biden. He also accused federal prosecutors of serving the man “who is running in a political campaign against President Trump.”
“You are not going to get two more years,” Chutkan said in court. “This case is not going to trial in 2026.”
She added that Trump “has known about the government’s investigation for nearly a year” and that he is being represented by “a team of zealous and experienced attorneys.”
He said in the next week or two Trump’s team would raise issues of “executive of immunity” with the court – essentially arguing Trump was engaging in official duties and cannot be charged with the charges of conspiring to obstruct and proceeding and conspiring to disenfranchise Americans.
“We’re going to have a very very unique and extensive motion,” Lauro promised Judge Chutkan in an appearance in the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington.
He said special counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury indictment “essentially indicts President Trump for being President Trump.”
He also referenced “core First Amendment issues” – indicating he would defend public statements before and on January 6.
At one point, before denying Trump’s request to move the trial to 2026, Chutkan said, “Let’s not overlook the fact that Mr. Trump has considerable resources that every criminal defendant does not usually have.”
