Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on Aug. 30 that the timing of former President Donald Trump’s four trials should not compromise his ability to have a “robust campaign schedule,” if he ends up winning the Republican nomination.
Mr. Khanna appears to be the first Democrat to raise concerns about this issue. President Trump and many Republicans argue that the timing of the trials, all of which appear set to occur before the presidential election next November, amount to blatant election interference.
President Trump has been indicted in four cases: in Washington over allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election and interfere with Congress’s certification of it on Jan. 6, 2021; in Miami over allegedly mishandling classified information; in Manhattan over allegedly violating campaign finance laws by giving hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election; and in Atlanta over allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. The first two cases are federal, while the Manhattan and Atlanta ones are local.
On Aug. 28, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan set March 4, 2024, as the start of the Washington trial. That date is one day before Super Tuesday, one of the most critical days on the presidential election calendar.
Appearing on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” Mr. Khanna acknowledged that trial dates should not conflict with President Trump’s campaign schedule.
“Well, look, I talk to, obviously, Republican colleagues, and they feel that the timing of it is one which, where Trump, where the charges are too far. I believe that you have to follow the law, and some of the conduct alleged is very, very, very serious. And you can’t just say okay, because someone was president or someone is a candidate, that you’re above the law,” Mr. Khanna, a progressive, told Mr. Hewitt, a conservative.
“Everyone is under the law, and these allegations, the evidence needs to be pursued. But what we’re discussing is the timing. And I do think we need to make sure that, in the timing, if Trump does emerge as the Republican nominee, that it does not compromise the ability to have a robust campaign schedule,” he continued.
“And I imagine that the courts will take that into consideration if he is the nominee. You know, he may not be the nominee. I mean, that’s still a ... that has to be determined.”
Shortly after Judge Chutkan set the trial date, President Trump blasted it as election interference.
“Today, a biased, Trump Hating Judge gave me only a two-month extension, just what our corrupt government wanted, SUPER TUESDAY. I will APPEAL!” he posted on his social media site, Truth Social.
