Why the calendar may be the decisive factor in the 2024 election

CNN —

In yet another courtroom, in yet another city, Donald Trump on Friday will star in a fresh episode of a deepening drama over whether he will be tried for federal crimes before November’s general election.

A Florida judge could set a new date for the ex-president’s trial over alleged mishandling of classified documents – a step that could impact other criminal proceedings on Trump’s crowded personal docket.

Special counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump

Related article Federal prosecutors propose pushing back Trump’s classified documents trial to July 8

Special counsel Jack Smith wants Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, to schedule a trial, which is sure to be delayed from its current late May start, for July 8. He wants to get at least one court date set in stone, but his choice would heighten the political stakes by setting up a collision with the Republican National Convention a week later, where the former president is expected to claim his third straight GOP nomination.

Friday is another one of those days when Trump is at the center of critical court action in two places at once. More than 550 miles to the northwest in Atlanta, another judge will hear closing arguments in a bid to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from Trump’s Georgia election interference case. Her ejection could have huge ramifications for the timing and shape of the racketeering trial.

This double slice of courtroom intrigue follows Wednesday’s announcement by the US Supreme Court that it would hear Trump’s claim to sweeping presidential immunity. The decision is likely to push the now-delayed start of his federal election subversion trial closer to, or even past, the 2024 edition.

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