It is Important that Trump's D.C. Trial be Completed Before the November 2024 Election

Of the four (4) major legal cases against Donald Trump, the one (1) that I would most like to see completed prior to election day 2024 is the "Election Interference" case brought by Jack Smith in the Washington, D.C. District Court.  The alleged crimes in this legal action are:

a.  one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States applies to Trump's repeated and widespread efforts to spread false claims about the November 2020 election while knowing they were not true and for allegedly attempting to illegally discount legitimate votes all with the goal of overturning the 2020 election, prosecutors claim in the indictment.

b.  one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding was brought due to the alleged organized planning by Trump and his allies to disrupt the electoral vote's certification in January 2021.

c.  one count of obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding is tied to Trump and his co-conspirators' alleged efforts after the November 2020 election until Jan. 7, 2021, to block the official certification proceeding in Congress.

d.  one count of conspiracy against rights refers to Trump and his co-conspirators alleged attempts to "oppress, threaten and intimidate" people in their right to vote in an election.

Sources: "The Trump Indictments", Edited and Introduced by Ali Velshi pp ix; "The charges facing Trump in the Jan. 6 investigation, explained"  NPR online By Jaclyn Diaz Updated August 2, 2023  12:37 PM ET  https://www.npr.org/2023/08/01/1191493880/trump-january-6-charges-indictment-counts   (Please use button above to read the npr.org article or use the link to npr.org site.)

As with all indictments, the charges are only allegations unless or until they have been proven in a court of law.

Why this case?

Conspiracies are usually the easiest to prove as such cases only require actions that further the conspiracy by at least 1 of the conspirators. The case includes Mr. Trump's election lies leading up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021 events; the alleged "fake electors" scheme;  alleged attempts to block (or delay) the counting / certification of authorized electoral college electors; and, alleged attempts to prevent votes (in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin) for Mr. Biden from being counted.

Of the 4 charges, 3 were charged as conspiracies such that so long as 1 of the co-conspirators performed an act necessary to reach the illicit goal of the conspiracy. The overall goal does not need to have been reached. And, each member of the conspiracy can be charged with the illicit action taken. 

For the Washington, D.C. District Court case, Special Counsel Jack Smith only charged Mr. Trump while leaving 6 others as unindicted co-conspirators. Mr. Smith's goal was to streamline the case knowing the limited time between the indictment and the November 2024 election.

Note:

Mr. Trump filed an appeal disputing whether he, as a former president, had universal immunity from any and all charges. On it's face, the appeal seems frivolous. No one should be above the law. However, the actions leading up to and during Jan. 6, 2021 occurred while Trump was president. But do actions committed while a president is actively a candidate for another term in office considered actions of a candidate for office or those of a serving president?  Recall that Mr. Trump's actions leading up to and during Jan. 6, 2021 were the subject of his second impeachment. (Impeachment is not a criminal action as much as it is an ability to serve issue.)

The appeal still serves as a delaying tactic as the case cannot move forward until the appeal process is completed. This is why Mr. Smith attempted to get the Supreme Court to take up the case and avoid the Appellate Court stage.

Of the 3 other primary cases against Mr. Trump, the Georgia State racketeering (RICO) case is a much more detailed version of the Washington, D.C. District Court case having 15 remaining named, co-conspirators; the Florida State case involves alleged Top Secrete documents retention as well as allegedly showing Top Secrete documents to those without required clearance; and the New York State case relates to falsified business documents plus a damages assessment related to the false documents. Of these 3 cases, only the falsified business documents cases appears likely to be completed by November 2024.

I believe that the best chance to get a Federal District Court case and/or Jan. 6, 2021 related case completed by November 2024 is the Washington, D.C. District Court case. This case is not as complicated as the Georgia RICO case and does not require a special evidence review process for sensitive material.

I understand that Trump's ardent followers will see him as a possible martyr; however, the alleged activity with which Mr. Trump and his named or unnamed co-conspirators violate election or other laws. The trials need to take place and the legal process completed to illustrate that no one is above the law and to provide independent, unaffiliated, and undecided voters vital information on which to base their  selection for president.