Former President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan after she slated his election conspiracy trial for March 4. The quadruply-indicted former president vowed to "appeal" the date after his team pushed to delay the trial to 2026 — but experts say a court's scheduling order is not subject to appeal.
"Deranged Jack Smith & his team of Thugs, who were caught going to the White House just prior to Indicting the 45th President of the United States (an absolute No No!), have been working on this Witch Hunt for almost 3 years, but decided to bring it smack in the middle of Crooked Joe Biden's Political Opponent's campaign against him. 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!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, going on to question when Smith would "Criminally Charge" the House Jan. 6 committee, which he accused of lying.
Legal experts quickly pointed out that the order cannot be appealed. "It's not a thing," former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti told The Messenger, adding that there is a "0 percent" chance of the move succeeding. "He cannot appeal the trial date," agreed former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers. "He can continue to request that it be moved back, and ultimately if he is convicted he can try to argue that the decision to try the case when it was tried deprived him of the ability to prepare adequately, but that's an uphill battle." Former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb warned that the post could get Trump in trouble for other reasons. "Sanctions are in order as the attack on the court is specifically out of bounds," Cobb told the outlet, predicting that "an appellate court would reject any attempt" to force Chutkan to grant him an appeal.
