Trump proposes 2026 trial date in federal Jan. 6 case to Judge Tanya Chutkan

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday proposed an April 2026 trial date in his federal Jan. 6 case as his lawyers negotiate arrangements for him to turn himself into authorities in Atlanta along with 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case.

Trump asked U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to delay the case for more than two and a half years, citing the massive scope of the investigation into his effort to overturn the 2020 election.

“The public interest lies in justice and fair trial, not a rush to judgment,” Trump’s legal team wrote in a 16-page filing. “If the rights to due process and counsel are to mean anything, a defendant must have adequate time to defend himself.”

Special counsel Jack Smith last week asked Chutkan to start the trial on Jan. 2, days before the third anniversary of the violent attack.

Chutkan has said she will set a date on or before a planned Aug. 28 hearing in the case.

The hard-nosed jurist, who has already presided over more than 30 trials of accused Jan. 6 rioters, warned Trump’s legal team that she is inclined to move swiftly to trial, especially if Trump continues to publicly attack witnesses, judges and prosecutors.

Trump pleaded not guilty to a four-count federal indictment that accuses him of trying to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The legal action in the federal case comes as Trump’s team negotiates with authorities in Atlanta over his surrender to face the sprawling racketeering case that covers some of the same conduct.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has given Trump and his 18 co-defendants until Aug. 25 to turn themselves in.

Trump had vowed to hold a press conference Monday in which he planned to unveil an “irrefutable REPORT” about supposed voter fraud even though courts have repeatedly rejected those claims.

He is considering scrapping the event on the advice of his lawyers since he could risk digging a bigger legal hole for himself, ABC News reported Thursday.

Sheriff Pat Labat has said the Trump case defendants will be treated like anyone else and told them to present themselves at a downtown Atlanta jail for booking.

But the Secret Service will likely insist on special security arrangements for Trump, who is under the agency’s protection as a former president.

Meanwhile, right-wing extremists and supporters of Trump are stepping up a campaign of threats and intimidation against those involved in his criminal cases, including the grand jurors who voted to indict him in the Georgia case.

Abigail Jo Shry of Alvin, Texas, was charged with threatening to kill Chutkan, who is currently under security protection. She has admitted calling the federal courthouse in Washington and using the n-word to deride Chutkan, prosecutors say.

“You are in our sights, we want to kill you,” Shry said, according to court papers. “If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you.”

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