Donald Trump.
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Trump and his Georgia co-defendants have had a strategic legal breakdown.
Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, one of the 19 defendants in Trump’s Georgia indictment, requested an October trial date.
Fulton County DA Fani Willis granted the request, meaning Cheesebro will separately go on trial earlier.
With a whopping 19 defendants named in the Georgia election fraud indictment, it’s no surprise the different defendants have their own tactics when it comes to trial dates.
But while at least one defendant is pushing for a quick trial, Donald Trump absolutely is not.
Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, one of the 19 accused of helping the former president attempt to overturn the 2020 election, has filed a motion in Fulton County court requesting a speedy trial.
The move for a speedy trial may have been a bet by Chesebro that prosecutor Fani Willis wouldn’t be prepared. Tamar Hallerman, a reporter for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that Chesebro’s decision is “a big deal,” calling it “the legal equivalent of throwing a bomb into the proceedings and gambling that Willis wasn’t ready.”
But Willis accepted his request for a speedy trial, proposing in a legal filing that all defendants begin the proceedings as soon as October 23. According to NBC, the quick trial will only apply to Cheesebro.
Former president Donald Trump — Chesebro’s former client — is not on board.
His attorneys filed a motion Thursday opposing Willis’ proposed October date. In other criminal proceedings, Trump has tried to delay trials until after the 2024 election.
On August 14, a grand jury indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants on charges including racketeering, conspiracy, and making false statements over attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
Willis is seeking to start Trump’s trial on March 4, which is a day before Super Tuesday — one of the most consequential days of the GOP primaries.