Trump's lawyers propose 2026 trial date in federal election case

Lawyers for Donald Trump on Thursday asked a federal judge in Washington to schedule an April 2026 trial for the former president, on federal charges that he allegedly sought to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

That requested date would place the trial after the November 2024 U.S. election, in which Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination.

“The public interest lies in justice and fair trial, not a rush to judgment,” Trump’s attorneys wrote on Thursday.

U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, whose office is prosecuting the federal 2020 election case against Trump, last Thursday asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to schedule a trial to start on Jan. 2, 2024. That date is two weeks before the first votes are cast in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

A spokesperson for Smith on Thursday declined to comment beyond that earlier court filing.