Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reiterating her request for an Oct. 23 trial date for former President Donald Trump and 18 others charged in the ongoing Georgia election case.
On Aug. 24, Mr. Kenneth Chesebro, one of the defendants in the case, demanded the exercise of his right to a speedy trial—which would require that Mr. Chesebro stand trial earlier than the March 4, 2024, date originally proposed by Ms. Willis. Former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, another co-defendant in the case, also requested a speedy trial.
The same day, Ms. Willis proposed an alternative, calling for the court to “specially set the trial in this case to commence for all 19 defendants on October 23, 2023.”
In an Aug. 24 order, Judge Scott McAfee approved Mr. Chesebro’s request but, in a potential blow to Ms. Willis’s hope to try all 19 defendants together, Judge McAfee said, “[At] this time, these deadlines do not apply to any co-defendant.”
This ambiguous wording leaves unclear whether the judge intended to separate or, in legal parlance, “sever” Mr. Chesebro’s trial from other co-defendants’ trials.
In a new memorandum submitted on Aug. 29, Ms. Willis reiterated her original position, arguing that, in order to meet the dual goals of granting the speedy trial motion and trying all 19 defendants together, the trial date should be set for all 19 defendants on Oct. 23.
Under the law, the state can try some types of defendants together in a single case.
In order to sever a case from a larger trial, a defendant must show that their rights are substantially threatened by a joint trial, a claim which must be investigated by a judge during a dedicated hearing.
For instance, if the number of defendants creates confusion, if evidence admissible against one defendant is not admissible against another, or if the defenses of various defendants are antagonistic to the rights or legal protections of the other, a defendant can seek severance from a joint trial.
Ms. Willis argued that because no hearing has been held to consider severance requests, Judge McAfee’s Aug. 24 order should be set aside pending further legal action on the matter.
She called for the judge to set a deadline for defendants in the case to issue motions to sever, and to hold a subsequent hearing to consider these motions.
Attorney Steven Sadow, a recent addition to President Trump’s legal team, wrote a response to the district attorney’s Aug. 24 motion to oppose the Oct. 23 trial date.
“President Trump ... alerts the Court that he will be filing a timely motion to sever his case from that of co-defendant Chesebro, who has filed a demand for speedy trial, or any other co-defendant who files such a demand,” he wrote.
Other defendants are expected to do the same, and attempt to sever their cases.
Mr. Chesebro’s attorney, Scott Grubman, indicated the October trial would not be a problem.
“Mr. Chesebro will be prepared to move forward with trial for whatever date the Court ultimately sets,” he told The Epoch Times, before Judge Scott McAfee ordered a Nov. 3 trial date for Mr. Chesebro.
The judge has yet to respond to the motion from Ms. Willis.
