During a Monday hearing, the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's election interference case in federal court reprimanded one of his attorneys for becoming heated.
"Let's take the temperature down a little here," U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan told Trump attorney John Lauro, a warning she later repeated during the tense hearing.
Trump was indicted earlier this month on four criminal counts in a federal probe headed by U.S. Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith in relation to accusations that he attempted to subvert American democracy by trying to overturn the results of 2020 presidential election. The former president's lawyers argued the case should not be heard until 2026—after the 2024 presidential election—but U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan set Trump's trial date for March 4, 2024, during the hearing.
Multiple reporters in the Washington, D.C., courtroom described Lauro as speaking in a raised voice and calling Smith's request for a January 2024 trial date "absurd."
CBS News Congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Lauro was "nearly yelling" when he called the federal case against Trump a "show trial."
Lauro said, "For a federal prosecutor to suggest that we could go to trial in four months is not only absurd, but it's a violation of their oath to do justice."
The lawyer continued to argue that the government's proposed trial date for his client would not provide sufficient time to prepare an adequate defense.
"This is one of the most unique cases from a legal perspective ever brought in the history of the United States. Ever," Lauro said.
Chutkan assured Lauro that Trump would receive a fair trial and noted the former president is "represented by a team of zealous, experienced attorneys" who have the resources necessary to review the discovery, according to MacFarlane's account.
"I want to note here that setting a trial date does not depend and should not depend on the defendant's personal or professional obligations," Chutkan said.
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Trump via email for comment.
Trump has been indicated four times this year. In addition to the U.S. Justice Department's election subversion case against him, he was also charged with 40 criminal counts related to accusations that he took sensitive government records with him after leaving the White House and conspired to obstruct government efforts to retrieve them. Special Counsel Smith also headed up that investigation.
The other two indictments came from cases in New York and Georgia. In New York, he has been has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, as reimbursement for a hush money payoff to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. He faces 13 criminal counts in Georgia related to accusations that he illegally sought to subvert the 2020 presidential election results in the state.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in all cases against him.
