Former President Donald Trump's legal team has requested that his trial for his Washington indictment be moved to April 2026, a date well after the 2024 presidential election.
The indictment includes charges against the former president for actions related to the riots at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Lawyers for Donald Trump say it will take years to prepare a defense against allegations that he conspired to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election and ask a judge to hold his trial in 2026, long after he finishes running in 2024’s election. https://t.co/Lpoqu2wbyQ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 18, 2023
"In a 16-page filing, attorney Gregory Singer argued for the defense team that putting Trump on trial as requested by prosecutors on Jan. 2, 2024, on charges of plotting to undermine the federal government, obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election and disenfranchise voters would mark a 'rush to trial' that would violate his constitutional rights and be 'flatly impossible' given the enormity of the government’s evidence," the Washington Post reported.
“The public interest lies in justice and [a] 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,” Singer wrote.
Trump and his legal team face long odds in their bid to move his 2020 election conspiracy trial out of Washington, arguing the Republican can't get a fair trial in the Democratic capital.
What Trump will have to prove to get his trial moved out of D.C.: https://t.co/W56OPPTb4H pic.twitter.com/24KlB496OC
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 10, 2023
"Donald Trump and his legal team face long odds in their bid to move his 2020 election conspiracy trial out of Washington, arguing the Republican can't possibly get a fair trial in the overwhelmingly Democratic nation's capital," Yahoo News reported.
"Criminal defendants routinely try to have their cases moved to increase their chances of getting a favorable jury. Trump and his attorney say they're eyeing West Virginia, which Trump easily won in 2020," it added.
Donald Trump's bid to move his election conspiracy trial out of Washington faces long odds. The Republican says he can’t get a fair trial in the heavily Democratic U.S. capital, but it's a high bar to prove a jury pool is so biased a trial must be moved. https://t.co/hOrk3xNwr7
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) August 9, 2023
"If Trump’s case stays in Washington, his trial will take place less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from where the Capitol was attacked on Jan. 6 by an angry mob whipped up by his election lies and intent on stopping the certification of Biden’s electoral victory," the Associated Press reported.
"The courthouse, which has a view of the Capitol dome from its windows, has already been the site of several high-profile Jan. 6 trials, including the seditious conspiracy cases against leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers extremist groups," it added.
If Trump's team can successfully move the case until after the 2024 election and change the venue, it would give the former president the most likely chance to defeat the charges.
In addition, the situation could significantly change if Trump is elected to a second term in the White House, with new leadership supportive of him in place ahead of any trial.
The moves are far from definite but represent the Trump team's options to minimize the impact of the indictment against the former president.
