Trump legal team seeks post-election trial date for Jack Smith's election case

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump seek an April 2026 trial date for one of special counsel Jack Smith's cases against him in relation to his efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election.

Smith has charged Trump with four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, threatening constitutional rights, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, and obstruction of an official proceeding. He has pleaded not guilty.

Smith, for his part, has sought a Jan. 2, 2024, trial date, which would precede the Republican primary contest. Trump's team, however, argued they would need more time to prepare a proper defense in light of the volume of evidence.

"This is an unprecedented case in American history. The incumbent administration has targeted its primary political opponent—and leading candidate in the upcoming presidential election—with criminal prosecution," they wrote in a court document. "The administration has devoted tens of millions of dollars to this effort, creating a special counsel’s office with dozens of employees, many of whom are apparently assigned full-time to this case and this case alone."

"Taking full advantage of the administration’s blank check, the government spent over two and-a-half years investigating this matter. It, among other things, interviewed and subpoenaed hundreds of witnesses, executed over 40 search warrants, and compiled information from countless individual sources," it continued. "The government included some, but not all, of these materials in a massive, 8.5-terabyte initial production, totaling over 11.5 million pages, together with native files, recordings, and other electronic data not amenable to pagination."

"The public interest lies in justice and fair trial, not a rush to judgment. Moreover, if the rights to due process and counsel are to mean anything, a defendant must have adequate time to defend himself," they contended.

Trump's team then outlines a timetable for the legal proceedings, which would begin on Dec. 4, 2023, and conclude with the April 2026 trial.

Smith has also brought a separate indictment against Trump related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents. That case is slated to go to trial on May 20, 2024.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.