TheMessenger | by Darren Samuelsohn, Eva Surovell, Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon and Steve Reilly | August 24, 2023
Article Takeaways by DP News Staff:
- Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has filed a motion requesting a trial start date of Oct. 23 for the case accusing former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
- Willis had previously indicated a longer timeline before going to trial, but the recent motion suggests a faster schedule.
- The proposed trial date would precede other felony criminal cases involving Trump.
- Trump is also scheduled for trials in Washington, D.C., New York, and Fort Pierce, Fla., on various charges.
- Kenneth Chesebro, a former lawyer for Trump, has filed for a speedy trial. He faces multiple felony counts, including violations of Georgia’s RICO law.
- An expedited trial could pose challenges for Trump and other co-defendants, especially if they are not prepared for an early trial.
- The Georgia proceedings have taken unexpected turns, with some legal experts suggesting that Chesebro’s request for a speedy trial might have been a strategic move.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed a motion Thursday requesting the trial to begin on Oct. 23 in her Georgia case accusing former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the Peach State.
Willis previously said she would need about six months before going to trial in the sweeping and historic case against the 2024 Republican front-runner and his associates.
But the local prosecutor sped that schedule up in her latest motion, which if accepted by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee would mean that they would jump ahead of all the other felony criminal cases involving Trump — assuming as well none of those get moved up too.
The former president faces a possible January trial in Washington, D.C., on federal charges he tried to overturn the 2020 election — more specifics on when it will really happen are expected during a hearing Monday before the judge overseeing that case.
Trump is also already scheduled to go on trial in New York in March 2024 on allegations of illegal hush money payments to an adult film star to keep her silent about an affair during the 2016 presidential campaign.
And Trump also has a May 2024 trial date in Fort Pierce, Fla., on charges he and two co-defendants conspired to conceal classified documents he kept after leaving the White House.
Source: Trump’s Georgia Prosecutor Asks for an October Trial Start Date – The Messenger
