Former President Trump dominates the Republican presidential primary race, but as he crisscrosses the nation aiming to transform this lead into a secured 2024 GOP nomination, he must simultaneously navigate courtrooms in various jurisdictions, defending his innocence.
Despite being the current Republican frontrunner, surpassing President Biden in a head-to-head matchup based on the latest Fox News Poll, Trump faced four indictments in 2023. Now, he grapples with conflicting schedules, balancing critical early state primary election days with trial dates.
Initially, the first trial on the 2024 calendar was slated for March 4, 2024, in Washington, D.C., following Special Counsel Jack Smith’s charges against the former president. These charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights, stemmed from investigations into Trump’s alleged involvement in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and any purported interference in the 2020 election results.
Despite pleading not guilty to all charges, Trump faced the trial on March 4 – the day preceding the March 5 Super Tuesday primary contests, where numerous states would vote to determine the GOP nominee.
Recently, Smith petitioned the Supreme Court to decide whether Trump can face charges linked to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Furthermore, Trump’s legal team requested Judge Tanya Chutkan to halt proceedings in the Jan. 6 case while awaiting an appeal. Chutkan clarified that she lacks jurisdiction over the matter during the Supreme Court’s deliberation, temporarily suspending the case against the leading Republican 2024 candidate.
The commencement date for this trial is now uncertain.
Following this, the next trial on the docket involves Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s lengthy investigation into hush-money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign. Bragg contends that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct, hiding damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”
Trump entered a not guilty plea to all 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York.
Scheduled for March 25, 2024, the trial’s timing remains flexible pending a decision on the trial schedule for Smith’s Jan. 6 case. If it proceeds on March 25, the court proceedings will follow the Louisiana primary and precede the April 2 primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
Simultaneously, Smith charged Trump for allegedly improperly retaining classified records at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges, encompassing willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements.
A subsequent indictment added three more charges, including an extra count of willful retention of national defense information and two obstruction counts. Trump, again, pleaded not guilty, and this trial is scheduled to commence on May 20, 2024, just before the Kentucky primary on May 21, the Oregon primary on May 25, and New Jersey’s primary on June 4.
If Trump secures his lead in the GOP nomination, he is expected to attend the Republican Convention in Milwaukee from July 15-18.
However, a few weeks subsequent, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has suggested initiating her trial.
Trump faces charges in Willis’s investigation into his purported attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. The charges include one count of violating the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents, and two counts of making false statements.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all these charges.
Prosecutors in Fulton County propose commencing the trial on August 5, 2024.
