US prosecutors recommend Trump trial start on January 2

US prosecutors have proposed the month of January, which corresponds with the anniversary of the deadly Capitol Hill riot of 2021, as the opening date for the trial of former President Donald Trump.

Media reports said Friday the team of prosecutors headed by Special Counsel Jack Smith recommended January 2 as the date.

The prosecutors say they want to move the case swiftly in Washington's federal court days before the Republican primary contest begins. Smith's team says the Trump trial should take no longer than four to six weeks. 

“A January 2 trial date would vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial — an interest guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law in all cases, but of particular significance here, where the defendant, a former president, is charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens’ legitimate votes,” prosecutors said in the court papers. 

The Justice Department accuses the 77-year-old billionaire of plotting with aides to illegally pressure local and national government officials and have party activists fraudulently certify bogus Trump victories in several states won by Joe Biden.

"The government's proposed trial date represents an appropriate balance of the defendant's right to prepare a defense and the public's strong interest in a speedy trial in the case," Smith recommended in the court filing.

Trump says trials would hamstring presidential campaign

Former US president Donald Trump blasted the multiple prosecutions threatening his re-election bid on Tuesday.

The former president is facing prosecution in multiple charges over allegations of criminal conduct before, during and after his presidency.

Trump has responded to the Smith team's recommendation.

He posted a video on his Truth Social media channel, where he said the "fake indictments" had been arranged under the influence of "the most corrupt president in the history of the United States, crooked Joe Biden." Trump claims that another election will be rigged and stolen.

Smith was formerly a war crimes prosecutor at the Hague. He was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as the Special Counsel in the election conspiracy case. Last week, he charged Trump with four felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct, and actual obstruction of, an official proceeding; and conspiracy against the right to vote.

Trump pleads not guilty of plotting to overturn 2020 election defeat

Former US president Donald Trump pleads not guilty to four counts of federal charges, dismissing criminal cases against him as a “witch hunt.”

The January 2021 case is the most serious of four criminal investigations that have yielded dozens of felony charges, including allegations that Trump covered up hush money payments to an adult-movie star.

Trump is also accused of mishandling dozens of classified documents he took from the White House as he left office, including military plans and nuclear secrets.

The criminal counts Trump faces reach 40, so far.

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