Two Of Trump’s Co-Defendants Severed From Georgia RICO Trial

Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee agreed to sever the trials of a pair of former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants who requested a speedy trial.

With the Oct. 23 trial date rapidly approaching, the cases of former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell and attorney Kenneth Chesebro will begin as scheduled. McAfee, however, showed skepticism that the cases against all 19 defendants could be prepared on time. 

This means that Georgia’s prosecution of Trump and 16 others will separate from the two defendants who will be in court next month. All are accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election in a case many see as nothing more than a Democratic witch hunt.

Some of the other 17 defendants expressed concerns that they could not be ready to properly defend themselves by October. 

McAfee signaled that any other defendants who did not waive the right to a speedy trial should also be ready for trial on the 23rd. He called severing the 17 cases “simply a procedural and logistical inevitability.”

One obvious concern was that the Fulton County Courthouse does not have a courtroom large enough to accommodate 19 defendants and their legal teams. That’s on top of prosecutors, court personnel and law enforcement. 

McAfee wrote in his ruling that relocating the spectacle to a larger venue raised security concerns. 

The length of the trial also played into the decision to sever the defendants. Georgia prosecutors revealed they expect it to last as long as four months and feature more than 150 witnesses.

This would also, the judge noted, create a substantial burden on the local judicial system. Defense attorneys would be taken away from other cases and the court would be sidelined from the other duties on its docket.

All 19 defendants, including the former president, pleaded not guilty after being indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in August. Both attorneys who waived their right to a speedy trial requested that their racketeering cases be separated from each other and the other 17 defendants.

McAfee also declared the cases of the other 17 accused may also have to be divided for logistical reasons. Whatever the outcome, it is certain to be a long and circus-like undertaking in which Democrats will attempt to embarrass the former president and his supporters.