The trial of Donald Trump on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result has been set for 4 March 2024.
The date means Trump’s trial could start almost exactly eight months before the 2024 US presidential election.
The former president is currently hot favourite to win the Republican nomination to take on President Joe Biden.
The decision from US district judge Tanya Chutkan denied a defence request to postpone the trial until April 2026, around a year and a half after the 2024 election, but also sets it later than the January date proposed by special counsel Jack Smith’s team.
Judge Chutkan said: “The public has a right to a prompt and efficient resolution of this matter.”
The federal case is one of four criminal cases facing Trump – including one in Georgia, where he is also due to be arraigned on 6 September.
Trump, a Republican, was charged earlier this month in a four-count indictment with scheming to undo his loss to Democrat Mr Biden in the 2020 election.
The 77-year-old had his mugshot taken on Thursday – a historic first for a former US president – and was booked in as inmate P01135809 as he was presented with 13 charges at Fulton County jail.
