Former President Donald Trump has been preparing for the increasingly difficult 2024 Republican presidential primary, but a Manhattan court has likely placed him at a significant disadvantage.

“Trump threw up his hands in frustration Tuesday as a judge scheduled his criminal trial for March 25, 2024, putting the former president and current candidate in a Manhattan courtroom in the heat of next year’s presidential primary season,” the Associated Press reported.

During a pre-trial hearing in the hush-money case involving adult film actress Stormy Daniel, Trump appeared via video conference and scowled into the camera as Judge Juan Manuel Merchan advised him to clear his schedule of all other commitments for the duration of the trial, which could last several weeks, according to the AP.

“Just had New York County Supreme Court hearing where I believe my First Amendment Rights, ‘Freedom of Speech,’ have been violated, and they forced upon us a trial date of March 25th, right in the middle of Primary season,” a frustrated Trump posted to his Truth Social platform.

“Very unfair, but this is exactly what the Radical Left Democrats wanted. It’s called ELECTION INTERFERENCE, and nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before!!!” Trump added.

The Associated Press added:

Trump pled not guilty last month to 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury extramarital sexual encounter allegations. He has disputed his guilt.

Merchan stated that he arrived at the trial date of March 25 after consulting with Trump’s attorneys and prosecutors. Trump’s attorney, Susan Necheles, stated that the president was aware of the date prior to Tuesday’s hearing, but she did not observe his exasperated reaction.

Trump’s case is proceeding in state court, despite his attorneys’ efforts to have it transferred to federal court on the grounds that some of the alleged misconduct occurred while he was president. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has until the following week to submit documentation explaining why the historic indictment should remain in state court.

Trump’s court date in Manhattan comes after other attorneys for the former president sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting a meeting to discuss the “unfair treatment” of their client.

Tuesday, the former president’s counsel sent the letter to the AG, according to Fox News Digital.

“We represent Donald J. Trump, the 45′ President of the United States, in the investigation currently being conducted by the Special Counsel’s Office. Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly,” the letter says, according to the outlet.

“No President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion. We request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors,” it added.

Fox News Digital also noted:

According to a source familiar with the investigation, Special Counsel Jack Smith has been working to conclude his investigation into the Trump classified documents case over the past few weeks.

It is unknown when Smith will reveal the results of the investigation and whether he intends to prosecute Trump.

More on this story via Conservative Brief:

Garland appointed Smith as special counsel in November 2022 after the FBI searched for missing classified documents in a raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Aug. 8, 2022. CONTINUE READING…