It’s reported that Jack Smith was in the courtroom when Judge Chutkan made her decision. March 4, 2024 is the day before the Super Tuesday primaries. Heh.
Here is a bit of this morning’s drama, per the Washington Post:
John Lauro, an attorney for former president Donald Trump, blasted the federal prosecutors’ arguments for an earlier trial date in D.C. as absurd and unfair.
“This is a request for a show trial, not a speedy trial,” Lauro fumed. “I’m sorry, your honor; for a federal prosecutor to suggest that we could go on trial in four months is not only absurd, it’s a violation of the oath to do justice.” …
… As Lauro’s voice rose, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan sought to calm him down. “Let’s take the temperature down,” she twice advised the lawyer.
Lauro argued that he needed ample time to review the evidence and prepare a defense for Trump.
“This man’s liberty and life is at stake and he deserves an adequate representation,” Lauro said. “As an experienced defense lawyer, we cannot do this in the time frame that the government has outlined.”
Chutkan replied: “I understand, Mr. Lauro but you are not going to get two more years. This case is not going to trial in 2026.”
There’s also a live report about the hearing at Talking Points Memo. Here we see that Chutkan told Lauro that the indictment was hardly a surprise.
Lauro appears to have calmed down a bit now as he tries to argue that Trump is no different than any other defendant.
While some of the material has been publicly available for years, it now must be reviewed within the context of this case, Lauro said. Chutkan pushed back, saying some of the materials are statements made by Trump himself and cannot be considered brand new information.
The judge appears visibly annoyed — eyebrows raised, tapping her pen on her desk — as Lauro explains that he has worked large cases before and going through discovery can be complex.
“This is an overwhelming task,” he said.
Also,
Before setting the trial date for March 4, 2024, Chutkan said she takes seriously the defense’s ask that Trump be treated like any other defendant, but points out that normally the defense doesn’t get organized discovery like Smith’s team has provided.
She acknowledged that the government’s request for a January trial date would not give the defense team enough time to prepare, but said the Trump’s ask was way too long to delay.
Trump may have screwed himself by asking for a 2026 date. And I’m sure that was Trump’s idea, not the lawyers’. If Trump is anything at all like Sociopaths I Have Worked For, most of the time the only way to work “with” him is to do what he says. And if what he says contradicts what he said 10 minutes earlier, don’t argue. Erase the old order and start on the new one. There may be an occasional example of someone changing his mind, but it doesn’t happen often.
The mini-fundraiser is going great and is still open. Here’s the gofundme page, and you can give to PayPal on the link on the right.