Judge Sets March 4 Trial Date in Trump Election Interference Case | VOA News

VOA's Celia Mendoza is in Washington where the trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election will be held next March, a federal judge ruled Monday.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan set the high-profile trial for March 4, rejecting dates proposed by prosecutors and defense lawyers.

The prosecution wanted the proceeding to start January 2, with jury selection in December, while the Trump defense team sought to put it off until April 2026.

The ruling by Chutkan, delivered during a hearing Monday, puts the trial right in the middle of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign in which Trump is the leading Republican candidate. It will commence on the eve of Super Tuesday, when voters in more than a dozen states go to the polls to choose their parties' presidential nominees.

Trump is charged with four felony counts in the case including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. #trump #news #voanews