Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who was arraigned on federal charges related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, faces reporters as he departs Washington at Reagan Washington National Airport in nearby Arlington, Virginia, U.S., August 3, 2023.
Pool | Via Reuters
Former President Donald Trump will not head to trial next month alongside two of his co-defendants whose cases in the sweeping Georgia election interference case were severed by a judge Thursday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee granted motions from Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell to sever their criminal cases from the 17 other co-defendants who have been indicted in Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis’ probe.
But McAfee declined an effort by Chesebro and Powell to sever their cases from each other, meaning they are both set to head to the same trial on Oct. 23.
The ruling deals a blow to Georgia prosecutors who aimed to keep all 19 co-defendants together in the case.
McAfee wrote in his order that severing Chesebro and Powell was “merely a procedural and logistical necessity.”
“The Fulton County Courthouse does not have a courtroom large enough to accommodate all 19 defendants, their various attorneys and support staff, court personnel, sheriff’s deputies, and the State’s prosecution team,” McAfee explained.
Willis’ indictment, consisting of 41 counts, charges all 19 defendants with violating Georgia’s racketeering law and other crimes as part of an illegal conspiracy to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia’s 2020 election.
Chesebro, an attorney accused of aiding efforts to secure fake electors to vote for Trump, is facing seven counts. Powell, the pro-Trump attorney, is also facing seven counts, including two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud.
Trump himself is facing 13 counts in Georgia, one of four ongoing criminal cases that loom over him as he embarks on a presidential campaign for 2024. All the defendants in Georgia have pleaded not guilty.
Chesebro and Powell are the only defendants who requested a speedy trial in Georgia. McAfee stated in his order that if any other defendant demands a speedy trial before Oct. 23, they will join Chesebro and Powell in the courtroom immediately.
For Trump and the other 16 co-defendants, McAfee has set a schedule requiring the filing of all motions by Dec. 1.
The judge has not yet scheduled a trial date for them, but he mentioned that his court has “received assurances that other judges in Fulton County are ready to start a second trial during the November/December term.”
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