Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the March 4 date set for Donald Trump’s federal election subversion trial was “realistic” but “disastrous” for the Republican Party.
Christie, one of the few outspoken Trump critics in the Republican presidential campaign, said the appointment was doable “given the fact that this is a single-defendant case.”
“I remember speaking to you at the time of this indictment and it begs the question, why did Jack Smith indict Donald Trump in particular and have six unindicted co-conspirators? I think today is why he did that,” Christie, a former federal prosecutor, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday.
According to Christie, Smith, the special counsel overseeing the case, limited the case to one defendant in order to bring him to justice.
“He accused the person who he felt was most guilty,” Christie said. “And today I believe the judge did two things: first, she gave them an additional six months to prepare for trial in a case with only one defendant, and second, she made it clear to the Trump legal team that the PR games are a game.” That she and her client’s game will have no impact on the decisions she makes in the courtroom.”
Looking ahead to March, Christie said Republican voters should be wary that Trump is expected to spend four to six weeks in federal court “and not campaign against Joe Biden.”
“This is catastrophic for the Republican Party,” he said. “And that’s why I said right from the start of the race that given his personal behavior and the things he’s done himself, he just can’t be our candidate.”
The trial begins one day before the Super Tuesday primaries. Trump is currently the front runner in the Republican presidential race.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan announced the date Monday after rejecting proposals from both the prosecution and the defense.
Smith had requested that the trial begin in January and jury selection begin in December. Trump’s team countered with April 2026, almost a year and a half after the next presidential election.
Trump is charged with four felonies in this case: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official process, obstruction and attempted obstruction of an official process, and conspiracy against rights.
He was also charged with 87 other felonies in three other counts, including a federal proceeding for his handling of classified documents and two counts at the state level.
In New York he is accused of falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money scheme against porn actor Stormy Daniels, and in Georgia he is accused of involvement in a conspiracy to suppress voters in the 2020 election.