Former President Donald Trump’s legal team has proposed a court schedule that seeks to delay the trial and potential start of a trial until well after the next inauguration. Special counsel Jack Smith, however, wants the court to begin considering arguments immediately about whether Trump’s actions are covered by presidential immunity. Trump has been accused of trying to defraud the American public and disenfranchise voters related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The trial was originally set to start in March 2024 but a hearing has been set to discuss the future schedule. Trump’s lawyers have indicated they may challenge the indictment, including the legality of Smith’s appointment. They also argue that the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year makes some of the charges moot and should be dismissed entirely. They propose a trial schedule that would have the first hearing on their motions held the week of Jan. 27, one week after the next president is sworn in. The strategy adopted by Trump’s legal team has significantly delayed the case, and weakened the special counsel’s case. While many Jan. 6 defendants have admitted they were misled by Trump’s lies, his legal team continues to argue that his election conspiracy theories were plausible and maintained in good faith, despite the new indictment stating that these claims were objectively unreasonable and unsupported.
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