Trump plans appeal against March 2024 trial date for 2020 election case

Former US President Donald Trump on Monday said he will appeal the trial date of March 2024 in the case wherein he has been criminally charged over attempts to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat, complaining that the timing amounted to “Election Interference.”

“I will APPEAL,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He did not mention further details of how or when the appeal will be made and called the probe politically motivated.

He said that prosecutors had deliberately slow-walked their investigation “to bring it smack in the middle of Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent’s campaign against him. Election Interference!”

US Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday set a trial date of March 4 for the federal case in Washington, one of four criminal prosecutions the former president faces.

Although Trump is adamant about appealing the trial date, legal experts said such a move was not possible before a verdict is reached in the case.

A trial court’s scheduling decision is not a legitimate basis for an appeal prior to a verdict being reached, according to legal experts.

During the hearing on Monday during which the March 4 trial date was set, Trump’s attorney, John Lauro, vowed to abide by the judge’s scheduling decision despite being unhappy with it.

The planned trial in Washington, D.C., is one of four criminal prosecutions the former president faces as he mounts a campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.