US sets trial date for Trump in plot to overturn election results

Federal Judge Chutkan announced that Mr. Trump's trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the election results will take place in early March 2024.

"I want to note that the setting of a trial date does not depend and has no reason to depend on the defendant's personal or professional circumstances," federal judge Tanya Chutkan said on August 28 during a hearing in Washington, DC.

Judge Chutkan announced that the trial date for former US President Donald Trump in connection with the conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election will take place on March 4, 2024. She also rejected a request from the legal team representing Mr. Trump to postpone the trial date to April 2026.

Mr. Trump's trial comes a day before Republicans choose their candidate for the 2024 US presidential election. Judge Chutkan's decision could affect Mr. Trump's hopes of returning to the White House.

Former US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire on April 27. Photo: Reuters — Former US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire on April 27. Photo: *Reuters*

Former President Trump then responded angrily on his social media platform Truth Social, calling Ms Chutkan "a biased judge" and criticizing special prosecutor Jack Smith, who is in charge of investigating the conspiracy to overturn the election results, as "mentally deranged".

A federal grand jury in Washington on August 1 released a 45-page indictment charging former President Trump with four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct and disrupt an official process, and conspiracy to deprive voters of their right to a fair election. Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty on August 3 to all of these charges.

According to special prosecutor Smith, who brought the indictment, the riot at the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021 was "fueled by lies" by Mr. Trump, aiming to hinder the process of recognizing the victory for Mr. Joe Biden.

This is one of the legal troubles Mr. Trump faced during the election campaign. The former president is scheduled to appear in court in Manhattan, New York in late March 2024 in a prosecution involving 34 charges of falsifying business records to pay to suppress information that was detrimental to the 2016 presidential election.

Former President Trump is scheduled to go on trial in Florida in May 2024 in the private documents case. Trump pleaded not guilty in June to charges of illegally retaining national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.

Trump and 18 others also face charges of attempting to overturn the election results in Georgia. Georgia prosecutors have proposed a March 2024 trial for Trump. Trump’s lawyers have asked for the trial to be pushed back to 2026.

Nguyen Tien (According to AFP )

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