The criminal case in Fulton County, Georgia against lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell was severed from the greater indictment against former President Donald Trump and the other 17 defendants on Thursday morning, representing the first major blow to District Attorney Fani Willis (D).
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee received arguments from Willis and the defendants on Wednesday, and on Thursday morning ultimately determined it was “a procedural and logistical inevitability” to sever the cases. McAfee also wrote that “[a]dditional divisions of these 17 defendants may well be required” as the trial proceeds.
The ruling became necessary after Powell and Chesebro asserted their right to a speedy trial, with McAfee granting a trial date of October 23. Most of the other defendants, however, have not waived their right to a speedy trial, but have not requested one. McAfee made the ruling after receiving written arguments, and did not require oral arguments to make his decision.
JUST IN: Fulton County Judge rules that Trump and 16 co-defendants will NOT be tried alongside Ken Chesebro and Sidney Powell starting October 23, 2023. Judge McAfee severs Chesebro and Powell’s case from the 17 defendants who did not request a speedy trial. pic.twitter.com/XaFQVCzo5N
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) September 14, 2023
Willis (pictured below) and her team of prosecutors repeatedly stressed the importance of one trial with 19 defendants, writing this week that multiple trials will create “enormous strain” and “a host of security issues” for Fulton County, as well as cause “burdens” for “witnesses and victims” who must testify. Prosecutors also claimed that each defendant, regardless of the case against them, will require a four-month trial and testimony from 150 defendants.
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a private defense attorney who has earned almost $550,000 as a contractor for Willis’s office, argued during case’s first court hearing last week that prosecutors “must prove the entire conspiracy” against each defendant, warning the judge that severing more than just the Chesebro and Powell case would mean the court will “try the same case 19 times.”
While McAfee left the door open for additional defendants to sever their cases in the future, he did not agree with a motion to stay proceedings until an appeal could be heard about removing the case from Fulton County.
Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows currently has a case before the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to remove his case from Fulton County, and instead try it in a federal court, citing his position as a government employee of the Trump administration when his alleged offenses were committed.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones denied Meadows’ latest efforts to remove his case, but the higher court has already asked for arguments from Meadows and Fulton County, and has granted his request for expedited review.
Willis has been sharply criticized by Republicans, including Georgia State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta), who recently claimed Willis is “obsessed” with prosecuting the former president. That obsession has created an enormous backlog of cases, said Beach, which in turn has caused a level of violence and overcrowding at the Fulton County Jail that Beach compared to a “concentration camp.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Georgia Star News and a reporter for the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
