Trump trial on election fraud charges to start later than planned

The start date for former U.S. president Donald Trump’s trial for attempted election fraud has been pushed back.

The court in the capital Washington announced on Friday that the start of the trial, originally scheduled for March 4, would be postponed due to unresolved legal issues in the case.

A new date has yet to be set.

Trump, who wants to run again as the Republican candidate in the presidential election in November, faces four criminal proceedings on 91 separate charges.

In the case in Washington, the 77-year-old was indicted at the federal level for his efforts to retrospectively overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump lost the election to his Democrat rival Joe Biden, but he still does not admit defeat.

At the time, Trump tried in various ways to overturn the election result.

His campaign against the election outcome culminated in an unprecedented, violent attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In the indictment over Jan. 6, Trump must answer to four formal charges, including conspiracy against the United States.

If convicted, he could face a long prison sentence.

Trump rejects all accusations and sees the prosecution against him as an attempt by his political opponents to prevent him from running for another term in office.

According to experts, a conviction would not legally prevent the Republican from running in the election in November – especially as it is uncertain whether a final judgement will be available by then.

The trial in Washington is one of a total of four that the Republican presidential candidate is facing.

Trump has also been indicted on various charges in New York, Miami and Atlanta.

He is the first ex-president in U.S. history to stand trial on criminal charges.

In the election fraud case in Washington, Trump recently raised a fundamental legal issue that still needs to be clarified.

Given this, it was already expected that the trial could be delayed.

The question at issue is whether the office of president protects against criminal prosecution.

An appeals court in Washington is currently still dealing with the clarification.

It must be decided whether the Republican can be prosecuted at federal level – or whether he is protected by immunity as an ex-president.

A decision on this is still pending.