With his announced absence from next week’s court hearing, Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will not be able to hear the former president’s initial arguments in light of the allegations.
Trump and 18 others were charged earlier this month in a 41-count lawsuit described as an alleged scheme to undermine the will of Georgia voters who chose Democrat Joe Biden over the Republican nominee in the 2020 presidential election.
For this case, Trump traveled to Georgia to turn himself in to Fulton County Jail, where he became the first former president to take a court photo but has only now pleaded not guilty.
The case – filed under the Georgia Corrupt Organizations Act – is a lengthy process whose logistics are likely to be complicated at trial, involving many witnesses from all sides.
At least two other defendants in this case have already filed requests for a speedy trial and to be tried separately.
The judge set a trial date for Oct. 23 for one of them, Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who worked to coordinate and execute a plan to have 16 Georgia Republican officials sign a certificate falsely declaring that Trump won the election in that state had won.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said she wants all defendants tried together, but Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow has filed a motion to oppose this model and contest the trial start date.
Some other defendants — including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — are seeking to present their cases in federal court, but the court has yet to rule on that request.
Trump — who appears in the polls as the leader of the Republican Party primaries — sees these lawsuits as a politically motivated attempt to prevent him from returning to the White Caste.
The former president and candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential election will go on trial beginning March 4, 2024 in the Washington federal case that charges him with attempting to have the result of the 2020 election nullified, the U.S. has said. court decided week.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision denied a request by the defense to delay the trial until April 2026, about a year and a half after the 2024 election, but also moved it to a later date than Special Prosecutor Jack Smith proposed date in January.
“The public is entitled to a prompt and efficient resolution of this matter,” Chutkan claimed.
At the same time, the New York State Attorney General on Wednesday asked for a partial summary verdict in the fraud case against Trump, arguing there is enough evidence to show that he inflated his assets.
The civil suit filed by Letitia James is being heard in the New York Supreme Court, in Manhattan, and the formal trial is scheduled for October 2.
At the lawsuit, Trump, sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization allegedly inflated property values for financial gain, such as better loan terms.
Source: DN
