Federal judge hands down a ruling that could sink the Trump campaign
Donald Trump’s future is going to be decided in the courts. And he’s not going to like what just happened.
Because a federal judge just handed down a ruling that could sink the Trump campaign.
The federal trial of former President Donald Trump, who is accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election, is scheduled to begin on March 4th, only one day before Super Tuesday.
Super Tuesday is often recognized as the make-or-break day for candidates seeking the Republican nomination. The trial being the day before Super Tuesday may (or may not) have an impact on how Republicans vote at the ballot box.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan set the trial date at January 2nd, as requested by the prosecution. Trump’s legal team pushed for an April 2026 start date.
He faces four counts in this case: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
According to reports, here’s how the arraignments will play out in less than two weeks.
On September 6, Trump and 18 other defendants will be arraigned for their roles in an election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia.
On Wednesday morning at 9:30, Trump will be in court before Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court. Thirteen felonies have been filed against the ex-president, including forging conspiracy, filing false documents, soliciting a public person to break their oath of office, and violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
At 9:45 a.m., former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani will be arraigned, and the additional defendants will follow every 15 minutes after that. Next up is John Eastman, another ex-Trump attorney; then Sidney Powell, another ex-Trump attorney; then ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, ex-Coffee County GOP chair Cathy Latham, ex-Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro, ex-Trump attorney Trevian Kutti, ex-Trump attorney Harrison Floyd, and ex-Trump publicist and director of Black Voices for Trump Trevian Kutti.
At 1, the arraignments will resume at 15-minute intervals, starting with former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, then former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, former Georgia state senator Shawn Still, former Georgia lawyer Ray Smith, former Georgia GOP chairman David Shafer, former Trump aide Michael Roman, former Coffee County official Misty Hampton, and so on. At about 3:15 p.m., the arraignments will be finished.
Last Monday, the judge announced that he would permit cameras and recording equipment from local TV affiliates into the courtroom for the proceedings.
Trump and the other suspects turned themselves in at the Rice Street jail last Thursday, one week before the August 25 deadline, prompting the arraignments. Arrestees typically undergo a thorough search, medical examination, fingerprinting, and mug photo as part of the booking procedure.
Floyd, the ex-director of Black Voices, remained in jail since he was the sole defendant who could not post bond.
As a condition of his release, Trump agreed to post a $200,000 bond, of which $80,000 would go toward his racketeering charge and $10,000 would go toward each of the other twelve counts. According to confirmed reports, he posted 10% of the bond amount with a local bonding company.
In their complaint, the prosecutors state that those involved “engaged in various related criminal activities including, but not limited to, false statements and writings, impersonating a public officer, forgery, filing false documents, influencing witnesses, computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, acts involving theft, and perjury.”
The indictment alleges that 161 distinct activities were carried out as part of the “criminal conspiracy.”
Beginning in early 2021, Willis looked into allegations of Trump and his aides trying to influence election officials and proposing phony electors. Shortly after Trump contacted Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger and pressed him to “find” the votes required to flip the state in Trump’s favor, the probe was initiated. According to Trump, it was the “perfect phone call.”
It was the fourth indictment against the ex-president in as many months, and it came from Fulton County. In addition to the 42 felony counts resulting from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, he was already facing four felony counts related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Prior to that, in Manhattan, Trump was indicted on 34 charges of criminal manipulating business documents in connection with a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Of course, Donald Trump should be assumed innocent until proven guilty of these charges. The Democrats, think they can play by a different set of rules and make Donald Trump appear guilty, at least enough to damage his campaign outlook.
So far, though, Donald Trump’s campaign has only grown stronger in the face of these charges and indictments. The American people generally seem tired of the nonsense and want to support the former President because of the political war that’s being waged.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
