Good morning to you. It is Sunday, December the 17th. I'm Ali Velsch. We're now less than a month

away from the start of the 2024 primary season, which kicks off on January 15th with the first

in the nation GOP caucuses in Iowa. January is going to be a busy month. In addition to Iowa, New Hampshire,

is also going to hold its primary. Plus, there are three Republican debates currently scheduled

to take place during that month. On top of all that, Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York

will come to a close, just as E. Gene Carroll's second lawsuit against him gets going.

Trump's criminal trials are not going to begin until a little later in the year, but according

to Politico, his campaign is already confronting the scheduling nightmare ahead of them,

as Trump's legal obligations clash with his political ambitions.

Trump's team plans to front load his schedule in

2024 and get him out on the campaign trail frequently early in the year in anticipation

that his numerous legal cases could disrupt their plans later on. It's a sound strategy,

especially considering that Trump's criminal proceedings, the first prosecution of a former president in American

history, involve complex legal questions that the justice system has never before had to consider.

And there's a possibility that Trump's legal calendar could shift as these questions continue to be

brought up. The prime example of this is playing out right now, as the courts consider Trump's

argument that he's

immune from prosecution for actions he committed while president and for which he was impeached

by the House of Representatives, but not convicted by the Senate. Judge Tanya Chutkin, who's handling

the federal election interference case in D.C. ruled against Trump on that issue earlier this

month, writing, quote, the court cannot conclude

that our Constitution cloaks former presidents with absolute immunity for any federal crimes

...