WASHINGTON: Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a federal judge in Washington to push back until years after the election a trial in Washington on charges that the former president conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The suggested April 2026 date is a dramatic counter to the Justice Department’s recommendation last week that the trial should begin Jan. 2, 2024. The question is ultimately up to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is expected to set at least a tentative trial date during an Aug. 28 court hearing.
In a filing, Trump’s lawyers say the years-long delay is necessary both because of the unprecedented nature of the case and the “massive” amount of information — 11.5 million pages — that they have to review. They said they would have to review about 100,000 pages per day in order to meet the Justice Department’s proposed trial date.
“If we were to print and stack 11.5 million pages of documents, with no gap between pages, at 200 pages per inch, the result would be a tower of paper stretching nearly 5,000 feet into the sky. That is taller than the Washington Monument, stacked on top of itself eight times, with nearly a million pages to spare,” the defense lawyers wrote.
Trump’s 2024 calendar was already expected to be packed with court dates and campaign appearances.
He is confronting both a presidential primary season and four criminal cases in four different cities. Next March 25, he is set for trial in a New York state case related to an alleged hush money payment to a porn actor. Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, where Trump was charged earlier this week with trying to undo the results of that state’s presidential election, have proposed a March 4 trial date — though that is likely to slip given the complexity of a sprawling racketeering case that involves 19 defendants.
And a federal judge in Florida has set a May 20 trial date on charges that Trump illegally hoarded classified documents and concealed them from investigators.
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Trump lawyers seek April 2026 trial date in federal election subversion case
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Trump lawyers seek April 2026 trial date in federal election subversion case
- Trump’s lawyers say the years-long delay is necessary both because of the unprecedented nature of the case and the “massive” amount of information — 11.5 million pages — that they have to review
- US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to set at least a tentative trial date during an Aug. 28 court hearing
Pure extortion: foreign workers face violence and exploitation in Croatia
ZAGREB — HRV: When DD left his home in India for Croatia last year, he expected his food delivery work to be hard, with long hours and low pay. He did not expect to be spat at in the street.
Twice last year the 27-year-old from Chandigarh was abused by groups of young people while working. Some spat at him, others shouted at him to “go back to your own country” as they tried to steal his delivery bag.
For the young foreign worker, one of the tens of thousands drawn to the EU nation every year, it was a rough welcome — but one he said is increasingly common among his colleagues.
As Croatia struggles with growing staff shortages, particularly in its key tourism sector, experts warn its badly needed foreign workers are left vulnerable to violence and exploitation.
“I just came to work and live peacefully,” DD, who asked to be referred to only by his initials, told AFP.
“We are not stealing jobs.”
Croatia has one of the five fastest-declining populations in the European Union, losing nearly 400,000 people over the past decade, according to the World Bank.
The shortages have driven a steady rise in the number of workers arriving from Asia — particularly since Croatia joined Europe’s passport-free Schengen zone in 2023.
Last year, four out of 10 work and residency permits were issued to Nepalis, Filipinos, Indians and Bangladeshis, mostly in the tourism, catering and construction industries.
It is a dramatic change for a largely conservative society with extremely limited experience of immigration from outside Europe.
According to the last census, more than 90 percent of Croatia’s 3.8 million people are ethnic Croats, while about 80 percent are Roman Catholic.
- Broken jaws, cracked ribs -
In WhatsApp groups used by DD’s fellow delivery riders, many share stories of almost weekly attacks, with the worst reporting broken jaws and cracked ribs.
While national crime data does not break down rates by victims’ nationality, the number of crimes against Nepali nationals rose sharply in 2024, outpacing the roughly 50-percent growth of its diaspora in Croatia.
Comparable increases were recorded among Indian, Filipino and Bangladeshi nationals.
But food delivery company Wolt said many attacks on its delivery riders, which are committed mainly by opportunistic young people, went unreported.
Most foreign workers arrive through private agencies or employers that usually offer little support, according to unions.
Some employers also offer overcrowded and unsafe housing at hefty rates.
Delivery rider Hasan, who did not give his surname for fear of losing his job, said he had been charged 270 euros ($319) a month for an “unliveable” room shared with five other men.
Breaches of arbitrary rules, such as a visitor ban, could attract hefty “fines” from his previous employer, who leased him the room.
“It’s pure extortion,” said the 27-year-old from India.
He was also expected to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
“You are like their slaves.”
- Hardening attitudes -
As migrant numbers grow, public attitudes appear to be hardening.
An Institute for Migration Research (IMR) survey found that more than 60 percent of Croatians were dissatisfied with the presence of foreign workers, up from 46 percent a year earlier.
Fears over a potential rise in crime rates, impacts on local wages, job losses and cultural differences were among the top complaints of those surveyed.
“When people feel their livelihoods are threatened, support for radical positions is more likely,” sociologist Ivan Balabanic said.
Some right-wing politicians have seized on the issue to push anti-immigrant rhetoric and portray foreign workers as part of a plot to “replace” European populations.
The conservative government, which has condemned the violence against foreign workers, recently moved to improve protections but also to require language tests for long-term workers.
DD said most Croatians were “generally friendly,” but without the ability to speak the local language, he had struggled to fit in.
Balabanic said politicians needed to stop treating the issue as “taboo” and discuss the need for foreign workers candidly.
“This is our reality and must be acknowledged as such.”
Twice last year the 27-year-old from Chandigarh was abused by groups of young people while working. Some spat at him, others shouted at him to “go back to your own country” as they tried to steal his delivery bag.
For the young foreign worker, one of the tens of thousands drawn to the EU nation every year, it was a rough welcome — but one he said is increasingly common among his colleagues.
As Croatia struggles with growing staff shortages, particularly in its key tourism sector, experts warn its badly needed foreign workers are left vulnerable to violence and exploitation.
“I just came to work and live peacefully,” DD, who asked to be referred to only by his initials, told AFP.
“We are not stealing jobs.”
Croatia has one of the five fastest-declining populations in the European Union, losing nearly 400,000 people over the past decade, according to the World Bank.
The shortages have driven a steady rise in the number of workers arriving from Asia — particularly since Croatia joined Europe’s passport-free Schengen zone in 2023.
Last year, four out of 10 work and residency permits were issued to Nepalis, Filipinos, Indians and Bangladeshis, mostly in the tourism, catering and construction industries.
It is a dramatic change for a largely conservative society with extremely limited experience of immigration from outside Europe.
According to the last census, more than 90 percent of Croatia’s 3.8 million people are ethnic Croats, while about 80 percent are Roman Catholic.
- Broken jaws, cracked ribs -
In WhatsApp groups used by DD’s fellow delivery riders, many share stories of almost weekly attacks, with the worst reporting broken jaws and cracked ribs.
While national crime data does not break down rates by victims’ nationality, the number of crimes against Nepali nationals rose sharply in 2024, outpacing the roughly 50-percent growth of its diaspora in Croatia.
Comparable increases were recorded among Indian, Filipino and Bangladeshi nationals.
But food delivery company Wolt said many attacks on its delivery riders, which are committed mainly by opportunistic young people, went unreported.
Most foreign workers arrive through private agencies or employers that usually offer little support, according to unions.
Some employers also offer overcrowded and unsafe housing at hefty rates.
Delivery rider Hasan, who did not give his surname for fear of losing his job, said he had been charged 270 euros ($319) a month for an “unliveable” room shared with five other men.
Breaches of arbitrary rules, such as a visitor ban, could attract hefty “fines” from his previous employer, who leased him the room.
“It’s pure extortion,” said the 27-year-old from India.
He was also expected to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
“You are like their slaves.”
- Hardening attitudes -
As migrant numbers grow, public attitudes appear to be hardening.
An Institute for Migration Research (IMR) survey found that more than 60 percent of Croatians were dissatisfied with the presence of foreign workers, up from 46 percent a year earlier.
Fears over a potential rise in crime rates, impacts on local wages, job losses and cultural differences were among the top complaints of those surveyed.
“When people feel their livelihoods are threatened, support for radical positions is more likely,” sociologist Ivan Balabanic said.
Some right-wing politicians have seized on the issue to push anti-immigrant rhetoric and portray foreign workers as part of a plot to “replace” European populations.
The conservative government, which has condemned the violence against foreign workers, recently moved to improve protections but also to require language tests for long-term workers.
DD said most Croatians were “generally friendly,” but without the ability to speak the local language, he had struggled to fit in.
Balabanic said politicians needed to stop treating the issue as “taboo” and discuss the need for foreign workers candidly.
“This is our reality and must be acknowledged as such.”
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