US proposes January start for Trump election trial

US prosecutors have asked a federal judge to begin former president Donald Trump’s trial on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election on January 2, 2024.
That date would have the trial get underway just two weeks before the first votes are cast in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, a race in which Trump is the front-runner.
US Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office said in Thursday’s court filing that it believes it will take about 4-6 weeks to put forward the bulk of their case against Trump at trial.
Trump last week pleaded not guilty to charges over the alleged election conspiracy.
He faces a separate criminal trial in Manhattan in March 2024, and another criminal trial from Smith in southern Florida in May 2024.
Meanwhile, Trump’s personal assistant has pleaded not guilty to new federal charges brought over the former US president’s alleged hoarding of national security secrets.
The government accuses Trump of mishandling dozens of classified documents he took from the White House as he left office, including blueprints on military and nuclear programmes, and plotting with his staff to hide them from investigators.
Walt Nauta, Trump’s longtime so-called “body man”, is accused of moving boxes at the Republican ex-leader’s Mar-a-Lago club in south Florida to conceal documents that had been demanded in a grand jury subpoena.
He appeared at a federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, 130 miles (210km) north of Miami, to deny two new obstruction counts added to several charges he was already facing for allegedly attempting to stymie the investigation.
Trump, who is running for reelection, was also facing new charges – including two for obstruction of justice – but wasn’t required to appear and signalled last week that he would be pleading not guilty.
Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, is accused of helping Nauta move some of the boxes.
Prosecutors say the pair asked an employee if they could delete security footage, and later lied to investigators about their involvement.
De Oliveira appeared alongside Nauta but his plea on four counts – including conspiracy to obstruct justice and making a false statement – was postponed because he doesn’t have a Florida lawyer yet.
Trump, who denies all wrongdoing, has now been charged with 40 felony counts in the case, mostly for alleged breaches of the Espionage Act.
He is facing prosecution in multiple jurisdictions over a variety of alleged criminal wrongdoing as he bids to be the Republican Party’s candidate for the 2024 presidential election.