Just hours before Donald Trump was set to be arrested in Fulton County for his latest indictment, Controversial Fulton County DA Fani Willis requested a trial date that rocked the political sphere.
According to multiple reports, Willis wants a trial date of October 23, 2023, less than two months from the arraignment and well before even the first 2024 primary elections begin.
Georgia prosecutors asked a state judge to schedule Donald Trump’s racketeering trial for Oct. 23, 2023, an unexpectedly expedited timeline that they proposed in response to a formal demand by one of Trump’s 18 codefendants for a speedy trial.
The demand came Wednesday from Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who is accused of orchestrating a scheme to send false electors to Congress. His speedy trial demand seeks to force a quick trial that comes within, or shortly after, the term of the grand jury that issued the indictment against Trump and his allies. On Thursday morning, Chesebro asked for an “expedited” arraignment to facilitate his speedy trial effort.
At issue is a request from one of Trump’s co-defendants, Kenneth Chesebro. His lawyer requested on Wednesday that a speedy trial be delivered. Willis has previously expressed her desire to have a single trial for all 19 defendants, meaning that her acquiescing to Chesebro’s request would apply to everyone, including Trump.
On its face, a trial date just two months away seems farcical. It would appear impossible that the trial could be anywhere close to that date given the assumed complexity of the case, the number of defendants involved, and the expectation of lots of pre-trial motions.
Of course, the final decision doesn’t rest with Willis but with the judge overseeing the case, Judge Scott McAfee. If he grants such a quick trial timeline, that will be telling as to how he may handle the broader questions surrounding the case.