The Georgia prosecutor leading the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants is looking to start the high-profile trial in early March, according to a court filing Wednesday.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis proposed a March 4 trial date preceded by arraignments the week of Sept. 5. Trump and some of his closest aides and allies were indicted on felony charges Monday in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
"In light of Defendant Donald John Trump’s other criminal and civil matters pending in the courts of our sister sovereigns, the State of Georgia proposes certain deadlines that do not conflict with these other courts’ already-scheduled hearings and trial dates," Willis wrote.
She said the proposed dates accounted for defendants’ needs to review discovery and get ready for trial "but also to protect the State of Georgia’s and the public’s interest in a prompt resolution of the charges for which the Defendants have been indicted."
A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Defendants have until noon Aug. 25 to surrender voluntarily, Willis said at a news conference Monday night.
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, one of the 19 defendants, is seeking to move the case to federal court. A federal judge on Wednesday scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Aug. 28 to discuss Meadows’ request.
Trump's court schedule is quickly stacking up for the first half of next year.
A defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll is scheduled for trial in January, followed by a March 25 trial date in a criminal case in which Trump is accused of having falsified business records related to hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign.
A trial is scheduled May 20 in connection with an indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith's office over allegations that Trump mishandled sensitive national security information after he left office and then tried to cover it up.
Last week, prosecutors from Smith’s office proposed a Jan. 2 date for Trump’s trial on charges that he engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and overturn his defeat after the 2020 election. The judge overseeing that case is expected to set a trial date Aug. 28.
In addition, a civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Trump, two of his oldest children and his company is scheduled to go to trial in October.
Trump has pleaded not guilty or denied any wrongdoing in those cases, often arguing that prosecutors are politically motivated as he seeks the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
The GOP primary season officially kicks off Jan. 15 with the Iowa caucuses. Super Tuesday, when the largest number of delegates of any day in the primary cycle can be secured, falls on March 5, a day after Willis' proposed trial date.
Trump has pressed unsuccessfully to postpone various legal challenges until after the election, arguing that earlier trial dates amount to election interference.
“All of these Biden Administration bogus trials and cases, including the locals, should be brought after the 2024 Presidential Election,” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social, his social media platform.
