The starting date for former President Donald Trump's Washington, D.C., trial has been tossed out.

CNBC reports that the case was supposed to begin on March 4, 2024.

Now, however, there is no telling when the case will begin.

It would be an understatement to say that this could end up being a huge blow to Smith and the Democrats' efforts to get a conviction of Trump before the 2024 general election.

Election interference?

Smith has brought two cases against Trump on behalf of the Biden administration. This particular case is the one in which Smith alleges that Trump criminally interfered in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump has pled not guilty to the charges, and he has insisted that it is Smith who is interfering in the 2024 election by bringing these unfounded charges against him.

As partial evidence for his claim, Trump and his team have pointed to the March 4th trial date.

Fox News helps to put things into perspective, reporting:

The trial was set to begin on March 4 — a day before the critical Super Tuesday primary contests, when Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Vermont vote to select a GOP nominee.

Trump and his supporters have argued that this March 4th trial date is no coincidence, but, rather, that it is Smith's way of trying to upend Trump's 2024 campaign.

Why the delay?

As stated at the outset, the March 4th trial date has been tossed, and the reason that it has been tossed is that an appellate court is currently considering one of Trump's legal defenses, namely, that he is protected from prosecution by the doctrine of presidential immunity.

It is unclear when the appellate court will make a ruling on this issue. But, what is likely is that, regardless of what the appellate court decides, the decision will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. This, of course, would delay the start of the trial even further.

Accordingly, it is not outside the realm of possibility that the trial will not begin until after the 2024 general election, and - considering that Smith's goal was to get a conviction of Trump before the general election - this could end up being a huge blow to his and the Democrats' plan.

Now, it appears likely that Trump's first criminal trial will be the one that is taking place in New York. If true, then this is even more bad news for Smith and the Democrats, because legal experts consider this to be the weakest case that Trump is facing.

In short, it appears that the Democrats' attempt to use the judiciary to stop Trump could be falling apart.