Prosecutors are seeking to put former President Donald J. Trump on trial in four different cities next year, all before Memorial Day and in the midst of his presidential campaign. However, it seems highly unlikely that all four trials will actually take place, as experts predict a morass of delays, court backlogs, and legal skirmishes that will hinder the proceedings.
Interviews with current and former prosecutors, judges, legal experts, and individuals involved in the Trump cases reveal that there are simply not enough available dates on the calendar to accommodate all four trials. Some experts even speculate that none of the trials will begin before the next election.
The complexity of coordinating four separate trials for one defendant is virtually unheard of, especially considering that Trump is also the leading contender for the Republican nomination for the presidency. Any delay in the trials would be seen as a victory for Trump, who could potentially exploit the timeline to undermine the cases against him. Less time spent in the courtroom would mean more time on the campaign trail, and Trump’s advisers have made it clear that they hope to use his presidential campaign to overcome his legal challenges.
If Trump’s lawyers are able to prolong the trials into 2025 or beyond, he could potentially seek to pardon himself or shut down the federal cases through the power of his Justice Department. While he may not have control over state prosecutions in Georgia or Manhattan, the Justice Department has long held that a sitting president cannot be criminally prosecuted, which likely applies to state cases as well.
Ultimately, the judges overseeing the four cases may need to coordinate and find a way to adequately prepare Trump’s defense without needlessly delaying the trials. Judges are permitted to confer with each other under ethics rules to efficiently administer the business of their courts.
Trump’s court schedule is currently looking as crowded as his campaign calendar, with potential trials overlapping with key dates in the Republican primary season. However, some experts argue that the election-related cases in Georgia and Washington, which strike at the core of American democracy, should take precedence over the New York and Florida indictments related to hush-money payments and mishandling classified material.
While there hasn’t been any direct communication among judges or prosecutors about changing the schedule yet, the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, has indicated that he would be flexible regarding the timing of the trial. However, the final decision rests with Judge Juan M. Merchan.
Norman Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, believes that voters deserve to know whether Trump was convicted of attempting to subvert the will of the people before the next election takes place. He argues that there couldn’t be a more important question for the country to address.
Ultimately, the trials will depend on how the judges and prosecutors handle the scheduling conflicts and coordinate with each other. With significant legal hurdles and a limited calendar, it remains to be seen how many of the cases against Donald J. Trump will actually proceed to trial next year.