Former President Donald Trump has been charged on 37 counts in federal court, including 31 charges of willful retention of national defense information.
Now, with his third presidential campaign speeding up, Trump is set to appear in court on Aug. 14, only nine days before the GOP’s first presidential debate.
The Republican presidential candidates are set to debate each other on Aug. 23. However, Trump has long questioned whether or not to participate in the debate. Plus, despite the debate requirements, he has yet to pledge his support for the eventual nominee.
One pundit called the court date “startingly rapid,” while also noting federal Judge Aileen Cannon’s preference for such quick turnarounds.
By comparison, Trump was indicted in New York on March 30, more than two months before his federal indictment. Yet, he’s not set to appear at the New York trial until next year.
As part of the pretrial proceedings, Trump already appeared in Miami federal court earlier this month to plead not guilty to all 37 counts.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, set the trial date as part of an omnibus order released Tuesday. She also set July 24 as the deadline for pretrial motions.
However, Cannon has historically also postponed some of her trial dates, according to a review by The New York Times.
Meanwhile, the R.N.C. is still planning to hold the debate on Aug. 23. On Tuesday, Fox News announced that its anchors Bret Baier and Martha McCallum would moderate the debate on that day.
“We are extremely proud to have Bret and Martha moderating the first debate of the 2024 presidential election season as Americans learn more about the candidates ahead of exercising their constitutional right to vote,” Fox executive Jay Wallace said in a statement Tuesday, the same day as Cannon’s omnibus order.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.