Trump seeks to delay federal election case until April 2026

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are seeking a trial date of April 2026 to face charges that he conspired to overturn the 2020 election. 

The suggested date would be years after the Justice Department’s recommendation last week that the trial should begin Jan. 2, 2024.

Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Windham High School in Windham, New Hampshire. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

In a filing, Trump’s lawyers say the years-long delay is necessary both because of the unprecedented nature of the case and the “massive” amount of information — 11.5 million pages — that they have to review. They said they would have to review about 100,000 pages per day in order to meet the Justice Department’s proposed trial date.

“If we were to print and stack 11.5 million pages of documents, with no gap between pages, at 200 pages per inch, the result would be a tower of paper stretching nearly 5,000 feet into the sky. That is taller than the Washington Monument, stacked on top of itself eight times, with nearly a million pages to spare,” the defense lawyers wrote.

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The question of when the trial will begin is ultimately up to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is expected to set at least a tentative trial date during an Aug. 28 court hearing.

Trump’s 2024 calendar was already expected to be packed with court dates and campaign appearances.

He is confronting both a presidential primary season and four criminal cases in four different cities. Next March 25, he is set for trial in a New York state case related to an alleged hush money payment to a porn actor. 

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Trump and 18 others were charged in Fulton County, Georgia earlier this week with trying to undo the results of that state’s presidential election. Prosecutors there have proposed a March 4 trial date — a day before Super Tuesday when the most delegates are at stake in the primary contest to decide the next Republican presidential nominee. 

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Additionally, a federal judge in Florida has set a May 20 trial date on charges that Trump illegally hoarded classified documents and concealed them from investigators.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.