Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee decided Thursday that former President Trump and 17 co-defendants won’t go to trial October 23 with two other co-defendants in the the Georgia 2020 election racketeering case.
Last week, McAfee ruled that two Trump co-defendants who requested speedy trials—Kenneth Chesebro and Sydney Powell—would be tried together on October 23.
All 19 co-defendants, including Trump, were indicted by a grand jury last month related to attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election, following a more than two-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
All face racketeering charges. Trump is also facing among 13 criminal counts solicitation of violation of oath by public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit filing false documents, and conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree.
Altogether amid four separate indictments—two federal indictments, a New York State indictment and the Georgia indictment—Trump is facing a total of 91 criminal charges.
On August 31 Trump attorneys had filed to sever his Georgia case from the other co-defendants, arguing that they “will not have sufficient time to prepare President Trump’s case for trial by the October 23, 2023.”
McAfee has written that it may be necessary to further divide the co-defendants into smaller groups for trial. He added, “The precarious ability of the Court to safeguard each defendant’s due process rights and ensure adequate pretrial preparation on the current accelerated track weighs heavily, if not decisively, in favor of severance.”
McAfee has said he expects to hold weekly check-ins with co-defedants Chesebro and Powell ahead of their trial next month. But it was also likely during Thursday’s Superior Court hearing that prosecutors would additionally press McAfee for more clarity on when the 17 co-defendants, including Trump, on when their cases could potentially go to trial.
