WASHINGTON — The former president has been indicted on four felonies charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election and is expected in the courtroom Thursday afternoon. Facing the judge is just an early step in the case that in many ways been years in the making.
THE QUESTION:
How quickly can Donald Trump’s case proceed after his D.C. indictment?
THE SOURCES:
WHAT WE FOUND:
The timing seems to be top of mind for both sides in this case: former President Trump posted to Truth Social, questioning why the case is coming in the middle of his current presidential campaign, frustrated with how these charges time out.
Though the events of January 6 played out more than two and a half years ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ) only appointed special counsel Jack Smith to handle Trump’s federal cases last November. And while the DOJ is acting independently of the Congressional January 6 Committee, that’s about a month before their final hearing when charges were recommended.
Meanwhile, Smith is once again pushing for a speedy trial.
Turns out, a “speedy trial” has a legal definition—in the “Speedy Trial Act.” It requires federal trials to begin “70 days from the date the indictment was filed, or from the date the defendant appears before an officer of the court in which the charge is pending, whichever is later.”
However, this doesn’t include time added for procedures like pretrial motions. There are expected to be quite a few such motions in this case, and they can take weeks to resolve.
The Speedy Trial Act also allows for a trial judge to make a call when the 'ends of justice' are better served by continuing, or delaying, a case than by its quick resolution.
Along with these latest charges, the former President has also been indicted for possession of classified documents in Florida and falsifying business records in New York In that ongoing investigation into his attempts to change the vote outcome in Georgia, CBS News reports charging decisions will be made in the coming weeks.