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Donald Trump’s very complicated legal calendar is coming into view. It currently appears that his criminal trials will occur after a large portion of Republican primary voters have decided whether to make him their nominee for the third consecutive time, but before Election Day.
On Monday, a federal judge in Washington, DC, set March 4, 2024, as the start date for the first of his two federal criminal trials. Read CNN’s full coverage of two dueling hearings from Monday.
The next day, March 5, is Super Tuesday, the fulcrum of the primary calendar, when Texas, California and a dozen other states hold their primaries. It’s the largest delegate prize of the year.
Track developments in Trump’s criminal cases.
Track the key political dates and events.
The judge in that federal election interference case, Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, rejected calls by prosecutors to begin the trial in January, but angered Trump’s attorneys by selecting March.
Trump’s lawyers said that date will not give them time to prepare. There will also be a busy court schedule between now and the trial date start as the prosecution and defense offer and respond to pretrial motions, witnesses and other issues.
Chutkan said during the proceeding Monday she contacted the judge overseeing Trump’s criminal trial in New York, related to hush-money payments in 2016, which is set to begin March 25.
By claiming the earlier March date, she asserted the primacy of the federal court will likely come before the proceedings in New York. The federal judge overseeing Trump’s trial in federal court in Florida for allegedly mishandling classified documents is a Trump appointee who set those…
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