A judge is expected to set a trial date in the federal election interference case against Donald Trump on Monday, and Trump is hoping that date will be in 2026. But, according to “Morning Joe” panelist Ken Dilanian, that’s just “not remotely realistic.”
Speaking with host Willie Geist about the possibilities for this particular Trump trial, the NBC News justice and intelligence correspondent noted that, though the special counsel Jack Smith is hoping for a January 2024 trial, that likely won’t happen either. That said, Dilanian argued, the request from Trump’s team is far more outlandish.
“Both proposals are probably unrealistic,” Dilanian said. “But the Trump team’s proposal is sort of in left field, is not even remotely realistic.”
Dilanian added that the date may more likely be in the summer, but added the caveat that, regardless of what date the judge sets, that doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be moved. He noted that most legal experts expect the trial to be set prior to the 2024 election though.
“As pretrial positioning goes, this is probably one of the most important pretrial hearings, in this case, because of the profound effects on the election,” Dilanian said. “And it’s really our first chance to hear from Judge Chutkan on a really important matter.”
He added that the decision is “really going to set the tone for where this thing goes from here,” and be a clear indicator of “exactly how Judge Chutkan views this case in terms of its complexity.”
You can watch Dilanian’s full comments in the video above.