Former President Donald Trump addresses the media after surrendering at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Aug. 24, 2023. (FOX 5)
ATLANTA - Former President Donald Trump is responding to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' latest request to require all 19 defendants in the Georgia election interference case to stand trial together.
Willis initially said she wanted the trial to take place in March of 2024. However, Kenneth Chesebro requested a speedy trial and the judge set Oct. 23, 2023, as a trial date for Chesebro. His request was followed by a request from Sidney Powell. After Chesebro requested a speedy trial and the judge set Oct. 23 as the trial date, Willis filed a motion seeking to move the trial for all defendants to Oct. 23.
FULTON COUNTY DA FILES MOTION TO MOVE UP GEORGIA ELECTION INTERFERENCE TRIAL
In the new motion filed on Tuesday, Willis says that the "State maintains its position that severance is improper at this juncture and that all Defendants should be tried together, but at an absolute minimum, the Court should set Defendant Powell's trial and that of any other defendant who may file a speedy trial demand on the same date as Defendant Chesebro's."
Willis specifically wants clarification on a statement in Chesebro's Case Specific Scheduling Order that states, "at this time, these deadlines do not apply to any co-defendant."
Willis also points out that Chesebro did not file a motion to sever.
By Wednesday afternoon, Chesebro and co-defendant Sidney Powell had filed motions to sever their cases. Chesebro also filed a motion Wednesday to disclose unindicted co-conspirators known to the grand jury.
Former President Trump filed an "initial response in opposition" to the state's motion to clarify on Wednesday.
According to Trump's response, the Aug. 24 order does not need clarification and accuses the DA's office of not believing that the Court understands how to properly exercise its discretion to manage the case.
Three of the 19 defendants indicted in Georgia for election interference entered not guilty pleas on Tuesday. Attorneys representing Ray Stallings Smith III, Sidney Powell and Trevian Kutti filed waivers of arraignment, stating the trio would not appear in court and would plead not guilty to all charges leveled against them.
The motion goes on to say that "Apparently, the DA’s office believes it knows far better than the Court how to protect each defendant’s federal and state constitutional right to a fair trial and due process of law, which necessarily includes sufficient time to prepare to defend against a RICO conspiracy charge with 161 Overt Acts" and that the Court has "no discretion or choice" but to put all the defendants on trial in two months because one or more defendants demanded a speedy trial.
The response mentions Trump's plan to sever his case from those who want a speedy trial and claims that the court has already decided to sever those who are making such a request. The motion concludes by saying that the Court does not need to clarify or set aside its order despite Willis' assertion that the District Attorney's office knows how to manage the case better than the court.
THREE DEFENDANTS PLEAD NOT GUILTY IN GEORGIA ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE
All 19 defendants are currently scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 6. Trump starts off the day with a hearing at 9:30 a.m. with the other arraignments set to follow in 15-minute increments.
It is likely that some if not all the remaining defendants will waive their appearance in court.
All the defendants met the Aug. 25 deadline to turn themselves in at the Fulton County Jail. Trump was booked Thursday evening — scowling at the camera in the first-ever mug shot of a former president.
TRUMP SURRENDERS AT FULTON COUNTY JAIL IN GEORGIA ELECTION INDICTMENT, HAS MUG SHOT TAKEN
The defendants were indicted after a two-and-a-half-year investigation instigated by Willis. All the defendants are facing a racketeering charge and other charges related to their alleged roles in trying to change the 2020 election results in Georgia.