Thread by @MacFarlaneNews

STANDBY: I'm in DC federal court as Judge Tanya Chutkan prepares to begin hearing in the Special Counsel's Trump 2020 election conspiracy case

We expect her to set a trial date

Cameras are -- as always -- prohibited. But I'll have real-time updates here

Attorneys have arrived in courtroom 9, as we await Judge Chutkan

Spectators have taken seats on the wooden benches (including some members of the public who lined up earlier this morning)

Judge Chutkan arrives and takes her seat on the bench at exactly 10am...

And the case of USA v. Donald J Trump is called

John Lauro is speaking today on behalf of Trump today (Trump, as we expected, is NOT attending)

First up: Judge Chutkan takes up Trump's motion to exclude the past 25 days from the "speedy trial" clock in this case. (The 25 days between arraignment and .... today)

Motion granted. The 25 days between the arraignment and today are excluded from speedy trial clock in case

Now... hearing shifts to the big matter: Trial date

Judge Chutkan details the recommendations

Jack Smith wants January 2, 2024 trial date.. estimate 4-6 weeks for making the case

Defense seeks April 2026 trial date and can't yet estimate how long it'll take

"These proposals are obviously very far apart," judge says

!! Judge Chutkan: Neither of the proposed trial dates is acceptable

Judge Chutkan: "Setting a trial date should not depend on a person's professional obligations. Mr Trump will have to make this work.. regardless of his schedule"

Judge says "speedy trial" rights not only protect defendant.... but the "public interest" too

"Public has an interest in the fair and timely administration of justice"

Judge: "Delay is not an uncommon defense tactic" in federal criminal justice system

Citing past cases.... Judge says counsel is entitled to reasonable, not "unlimited" time to prepare

Judge says she's aware of other Trump cases.. and the dates in those cases

Judge Chutkan calls forward defense attorney John Lauro.. to confirm Lauro does NOT represent Trump in the other cases

Lauro acknowledges he does NOT represent Trump in other cases... but says his co-counsel *does*... and he calls defense "a team effort"

Judge says defense hasn't identified ANY other cases in DC in which TWO YEARS was given before trial, in which there were no co-defendants

She also criticizes other cases cited by defense when they sought 2026 trial date... she says *those* cases happened during COVID slowdowns

Now Judge Chutkan is talking about the paperwork "burden" argued made by Trump defense, in seeking 2026 trial date

This defense argument ====>

Judge asks Special counsel attorney (Molly Gaston) about paperwork/evidence sharing

Gaston: "Discovery is at approximately at 12.8 million pages" .... shared in 5 different productions

The 12.8 million pages include items from Jan 6 Select Committee, US Secret Service, National Archives, grand jury materials

The special counsel prosecutor (Gaston) has said the process of sharing the evidence with Trump defense team is "substantially complete"

Tens of thousands of the pages are from witness interviews..... and audio recordings of the interviews were also provided to defense

Judge asked how much of the evidence was created by Trump... such as tweets

Prosecutor doesn't have that info immediately available, she says

Judge: "The matter in which the discovery in this case has been organized" shows "considerable effort" by the prosecutors

When asked by judge about discovery, defense lawyer John Lauro says: "Mr. Trump...... President Trump .. is entitled to a fair trial"

He then calls it a "show trial"

He's speak quite loudly... nearly yelling

Defense attorney tells judge the proposed trial date from prosecutors: "Is absurd... it's a violation of the oath to do justice"

Judge urges defense to "take the temperature down a bit"

Lauro is blasting past some attempts by Judge Chutkan to interject .. as he continues to rail against proposed trial date

Judge Chutkan attempts to talk again. And succeeds. She urges defense attorney (Lauro) to "take the temperature down"

Lauro tries to resume his argument. Judge tells him to "hold on"

Judge is asking why the "electronic search" capability in discovery isn't sufficient

Judge tells defense lawyer: "A lot of this material is material your client *created"

Defense is making extended argument about needing more time to review the evidence

Lauro: "No document gets reviewed electronically.. they get assembled electronically"

Lauro "I like to be *prepared* for trial" "This is a massive undertaking"

Defense: "This man's liberty and life is at stake. He deserves adequate representation"

Volume is increasing. Judge again attempts (unsuccessfully) to interject

!!! Judge Chutkan to defense: "You're not going to get two more years. This case is not going to trial in 2026"

Judge: "Given that Mr. Trump likely knows most of the witnesses the government would call.... (some) may be staff and associates... why would the defense need 2 years to investigate?"

Defense: There was no obligation to begin defense during the grand jury probe

Defense: "We can't be charged and hindered because we didn't do an investigation during the grand jury" procedure

"This is an enormous, overwhelming task. We have two small law firms working around the clock"

Lauro has made SEVERAL uses of the term "miscarriage of justice".. about timing of this case

Judge: "I intend to ensure he gets a (fair trial). But this case isn't going to trial in 2026."

Judge Chutkan: "He has a right to a fair trial. But what is a fair amount of time to prepare. The 12 million pages are not truly indicative of the time he needs to prepare"

She calls some of the documents "duplicative" .. "doesn't need to take 2 years"

It's noticeable how Trump's defense attorney is speaking over the judge .. in multiple exchanges during this argument

Defense: "This is a question of whether one man, one United States citizen, gets a fair trial"

Judge Chutkan is a former trial attorney. As Lauro talks about the lengths of time needed for him to review all of the grand jury transcripts and witness statements....

Judge interjects to say: We know that isn't a big a universe of documents as you're arguing

!! Judge to defense: "You and I have a very different" estimate of the time needed to prepare for trial

Defense says they're going to raise the issue of "executive immunity" and will question whether this court even has jurisdiction in case. "We're going to have a very, very unique and extensive motion that deals with executive immunity"

And... defense attorney John Lauro tells judge the defense expects to file a "selective prosecution" motion... citing the 2024 campaign and Hunter Biden

Defense says they're going to challenge the "obstruction" charge.. and whether it's appropriate in this case

Other Jan 6 defendants have done the same

Defense tells judge: "We're going to be back many, many times" arguing the novel issues in the case

Judge chuckles: "Can't wait"

Defense: "This is one of the most unique cases, from a legal perspective, ever brought in the history of the United States. Ever"

He's arguing the unique, novel issues of case warrant a longer wait for trial

Special Counsel prosecutor Molly Gaston now gets to respond to the extended defense arguments

Standby

Prosecutor says defense "doesn't want to admit" that thru electronic searches and modern American trial prep tools, Trump can be ready much earlier than 2026

Prosecutor uses defense attorney John Lauro's own words against him .... she says the night of the indictment, Lauro called the criminal case a "regurgitation" of the Jan 6 Select Cmte investigation

Indicating.. he understood the case quickly

Prosecutor cites Lauro's media & podcast interviews during week of Trump indictment earlier this month

She says Lauro claimed to have read Mike Pence's book twice... and that Lauro said he was already planning Pence cross-examination

Prosecutor: "We are not starting fresh"

Prosecutor Molly Gaston talks about defense's plan to file an "executive immunity" motion challenging case

Gaston: "Let's have that motion"... but set a trial date

Gaston says "There is an extraordinary public interest" in a fair and speedy trial"

"On a near daily basis, the defendant posts on social media about this case" ... "this potentially prejudices the jury pool"

Prosecution is leaning heavily into the argument that Trump's social media posts and statements require the "soonest possible trial date"..... including by mentioning Trump's comments about case, possible witnesses and the District of Columbia

Prosecutor concludes this part of her argument. Judge Chutkan shifts to a discussion of some of the classified information procedures in this case. The so-called "CIPA" issues.

There are classified material issues in this case too

Prosecution team says there's a "limited amount of classified information" to make available to defense... but it's less than 100 pages... and a transcript of a witness interview that's approx. 125 pages.

Prosecution says the classified info matters should NOT impact trial date

Extended discussion over the classified info matters. About getting clearances and a possible September hearing on the matter

As the classified info talk continues..... I'm looking back at my notes on the prosecutor's argument for prompt trial

Prosecutor said Trump has disparaged witnesses, integrity of the court, DC itself

At previous hearing, Judge expressed concern such Trump posts would happen

Defense says they will file "motions to dismiss" ... calling case a "political prosecution"

And John Lauro says they'll likely seek an evidentiary hearing for "selective prosecution" challenge .. making clear the defense is going to load up case with challenges

Judge Chutkan calls for 5-10 minute recess

Then she'll re-convene court to determine trial date

STANDBY

Judge is back. Not even five minutes

Here we go

Judge: "I understand all too well.. the need for counsel to ... prepare for trial." Especially in a case like this, she says

"I take seriously the defense's request that Mr Trump be handled like any other defendant. And I intend to do so"

Judge says Trump "needs more than 5 months to prepare" .. about prosecutor's Jan 2024 trial date recommendation

That says defense request of 2026 is "farrrrrrr" too much .. witnesses may become unavailable, memories might fade

Judge says the public has a right to a prompt trial in this case

Judge: "Mr. Trump is represented by a team of zealous, experienced attorneys. And has the resources necessary to review the discovery"

And she says a lot of the discovery has long been available

Judge: "I've seen many cases delayed because the defendant lacks adequate representation. That is not the case here"

TRIAL is MARCH 4, 2024

Judge Chutkan says she's talked to New York city judge to notify him that the dates would overlap with New York City trial date

Judge says trial is not moving forward with the speed of a mob

Then she specifies the trial will happen three years, two months after the Jan 6 attack

Judge: Trial will commence March 4, 2024

John Lauro stands to argue "That trial date is inconsistent with President Trump's right to due process"

Judge: "your objection is noted for the record"

Prosecutor says if defense files a change-of-venue motion, there is concern that any polling conducted by defense to inform the change-of-venue motion could taint the jury pool

Prosecutor says they want to file arguments, if defense intends to do polling

Judge: "I'm watching carefully for anything that might poison that jury pool" ..... she says about public statements in case

Judge says she too is concerned that defense polling/probing of possible jury pool could taint the jurors in case

Judge orders defense to notify the court ex-parte if they decide to poll Washington DC citizens ahead of trial

As a "change-of-venue" motion seems likely in this case

Hearing ends.

Trial date is set for March 4, 2024. The day before Super Tuesday.

And…. A string of “no comments” from defense attorney John Lauro as he departed.

I asked if he was surprised or disappointed by trial date… and Lauro kept saying “no comment” as he briskly walked away from cameras and reporters