Donald Trump could face three criminal and civil trials in the space of the same month if Special Counsel Jack Smith's requested timeline for the January 6 trial against the former president is granted.
Smith, whose office charged Trump with four felony offenses in relation to the alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election, which the former president has pleaded not guilty to, requested that Trump's federal trial begins on January 2, 2024. In court filings, Smith argued that the date would "vindicate the public's strong interest in a speedy trial."
It remains to be seen whether U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, will grant Smith's requests for the trial to begin next January. The former president's legal team is also expected to argue against the date put forward by Smith and put forward its proposed trial timeline.
If granted, Trump could end up standing in the federal trial, as well as a civil lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, and a third long-running fraud suit against Trump and The Trump Organization, all in January.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's office via email for comment.

January 2: Preposed January 6 Trial
Trump, the frontrunner in the 2024 GOP Primary, condemned Smith's suggested trial date, noting it would arrive shortly before the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucus on January 15.
"Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses. Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA," Trump posted on Truth Social.
"Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of, and attempt to obstruct, an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights in connection to the investigation into the events that led up to the January 6 attack.
January 15: E. Jean Carroll Defamation Case
The Iowa Caucus is also the same day on which a civil trial brought forward against the former Elle columnist against the former president will begin.
Carroll is suing Trump for defamation in connection to comments he made denying that he assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.
The current defamation suit, which Carroll filed in 2019, focuses on comments Trump made as president while denying the accusations, including telling The Hill that the attack could not have occurred as "she's not my type."
The defamation suit is separate from the one in which Trump was found liable in May for sexually abusing Carroll and ordered to pay $5 million in damages.
One day after the civil trial ruling, Trump appeared at a CNN town hall where he once again attacked and insulted Carroll as a "whack job," denied he ever met her and suggested the abuse claim was a "made-up story." Carroll then sought to amend her 2019 lawsuit to include the comments Trump made on CNN, as well as seek an additional $10 million in punitive damages.
Trump is not obligated to attend the civil hearing against him.
January 29: ANC Fraud Suit
Trump is also facing a fraud suit in a case that has not received the same attention as any of Trump's other legal trials and issues.
The 2018 lawsuit filed accuses Trump of defrauding investors into backing a multi-level marketing scheme—also known as a pyramid scheme—via American Communications Network [ANC], a telecommunication company known for selling a videophone which ultimately became obsolete once smartphones were introduced.
The suit alleges that Trump received "millions of dollars in secret payments to promote and endorse" ANC between 2005 and 2015.
Trump is accused of using his reality TV show The Celebrity Apprentice as a vehicle to promote ANC to investors. Three of Trump's children—Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.—were originally named in the suit, although they have now been dismissed in the case.
Trump has long denied he was ever paid for his public endorsements of ANC. Trump and the Trump Organization will take part in the civil trial on January 29 to face accusations of fraud, false advertising and unfair competition.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more