Fox News reporter Jake Gibson, who was in the courtroom, said that prosecutors had asked for the January 2024 trial date. The Iowa caucuses — the first contest in the Republican primary — will be on February 5, 2024.

That means prosecutors want a trial that would undoubtedly affect the race for the Republican nomination, both by distracting the current frontrunner, and by tarnishing him relative to other candidates in the race.

The requested date would also deprive Republican voters of the opportunity to choose another candidate, in the event that Trump was found guilty. It would force them to vote while the outcome of the trial is still in question.

In 2020, Trump was forced to campaign for reelection during his impeachment trial, which was brought by Democrats, and which was ultimately unsuccessful. The trial also forced several Democratic candidates — with the notable exception of Joe Biden, who did not hold elected office — to attend the trial in the Senate instead of campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire.