“What I would generally ask here is if the state is planning to convey any offers in this case,” said Judge Scott McAfee, presiding over the case, adding that he didn’t need to know the substance of the plea bargains offered but whether the offer was rejected or accepted would be entered into the record. “I do ask that if an offer is going to be made that it be conveyed at this point.”
“We have not made an offer, most of our communication with defense counsel has been surrounding the motions and discovery issues,” said prosecutor Nathan Wade. “We have not at this point made an offer.”
“Is the state in the position to make one in the near future?” Judge McAfee asked.
“Judge, I believe that we can. We‘ll sit down and put some things together and we’ll reach out to defense counsel individually, to extend an offer,” Mr. Wade said.
Former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants have been charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and 40 other charges for their actions in challenging the state’s 2020 election results. The Fulton County District Attorney’s office is prosecuting the case.
Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, who served as legal counsel for President Trump in 2020 and helped arrange alternate slates of electors, and Sidney Powell, a former federal prosecutor who sought to investigate potential election fraud after the 2020 elections, had both filed for a speedy trial. The two defendants go to trial together on Oct. 23, and are currently in the discovery phase.
Transcripts
Judge McAfee had previously ordered the prosecution to share with the defense transcripts of any special purpose grand jury witnesses that will be called on again to testify. The special purpose grand jury had heard from 75 witnesses before recommending charges be brought against 39 people; a separate grand jury later handed up the indictment against the 19 defendants.The judge cautioned the prosecutors to prepare the witness lists in good faith so that there are no last-minute surprises.
If the prosecution overloads their witness list, it would also mean turning over more testimonies and materials in discovery to the defense. The current list the prosecution has submitted includes 178 people, and the judge has ordered them to narrow the list by separating witnesses they expect to call into a list separate from the rest of the potential witnesses.
“Through the witness list that they’ve filed, they’ve indicated all those people could be witnesses, and therefore we’re entitled to all of them,” Mr. Rafferty said.
The judge then added that a delayed transcript won’t be an acceptable excuse for not sharing transcripts with the defense, as in that case they will be required to share the recording of the testimony. Both sides noted the transcripts were being delayed by the court and requested the judge’s assistance on the matter.
The judge had also allowed, in the previous hearing, the defense to interview the special purpose grand jurors. Mr. Rafferty had said that if those jurors were influenced by the prosecution, it would be grounds to dismiss the case.
Mr. Rafferty noted in the hearing that Misty Hampton, one of the defendants, had already given a sworn deposition that “number one, she authorized this, and number two, Ms. Powell had nothing to do with it.”
Ms. Hampton was an election official in Coffee County, where election machines were being investigated. The indictment alleges that Ms. Powell committed several crimes pertaining to the illegal removal and tampering of voting machines, which Mr. Rafferty has argued she was not involved with.
The judge also scheduled Oct. 9 to hear RICO demurrers from Mr. Chesebro’s legal team, who has filed motions arguing the entire case is irrelevant as it pertains to the laws cited.
“The State has made absolutely no showing of any activity by Mr. Chesebro that was outside the bounds of his role as a lawyer for the Trump campaign, much less in furtherance of criminal or fraudulent activity,” the motion reads.
The prosecutors have indicated they intend to introduce five emails between Mr. Chesebro and the Trump campaign, which defense attorneys argue are privileged and an “illegal” form of evidence.
One of the emails, which was forwarded to co-defendant John Eastman, another attorney, has already been leaked to the media and is being used in Mr. Eastman’s disbarment trial in California.
