Biden Official's 'Speedy Trial' Remark Sparks Fury From Donald Trump Allies

Attorney General Merrick Garland's support for a "speedy trial" in Donald Trump's election interference case sparked fury from the former president's allies.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith last year charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights in connection to the investigation. The charges were in connection to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and the alleged plot to submit false slates of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College. Trump maintains his innocence and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The trial is currently scheduled to begin on March 4, 2023, but may be pushed back to allow lawyers more time to prepare, awaiting a federal court's ruling on Trump's claims that presidential immunity would shield him from charges in the case. Some legal experts have suggested Trump may be trying to delay the trial until after the election, when, if he wins, he may be able to order charges against him dropped.

Garland, appointed to his position by President Joe Biden, weighed in on the timeline for Trump's trial during a new interview with CNN.

"The special prosecutor has said from the beginning that he thinks public interest requires a speedy trial, which I agree with," he said. "And the matter is now in the hands of the trial judge to determine when a trial will take place."

His comments sparked outrage from supporters of the former president. Trump has claimed the DOJ is targeting him for political purposes including harming his campaign as he remains the frontrunner to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

A DOJ spokesperson declined further comment when reached by Newsweek.

"ELECTION INTERFERENCE! We knew this was all coming from Joe Biden himself. Merrick Garland just made it official," Trump adviser Jason Miller wrote in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon wrote in a post to conservative social media platform Gettr that his comments equate to advocating for "DIRECT LAWFARE ELECTION INTERFERENCE" to "save Biden AND himself."

"Joe Biden is the real threat to democracy — trying to jail his top political rival. Brazen election interference," Daniel Baldwin, a journalist for the conservative news outlet One America News, wrote.

In the CNN interview, Garland also said the perception among some critics that Trump is being prosecuted for political reasons "concerns" him.

"What we have to do is show by the acts that we take that we're following the law, that we're following the facts," he said.

Special Counsel Smith previously argued in an August court filing that the public has a "right" to a speedy trial in Trump's cases while arguing against a 2026 trial date.

"In service of a proposed trial date in 2026 that would deny the public its right to a
speedy trial, the defendant cites inapposite statistics and cases, overstates the amount of new and non-duplicative discovery, and exaggerates the challenge of reviewing it effectively," Smith wrote.