Left: BEDMINSTER, NJ – AUGUST 13: Former President Donald J. Trump at the first tee during the final round of LIV Golf Bedminster on August 13, 2023 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images). Right: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. Donald Trump and several allies have been indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia officials prosecuting former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants accused of conspiring to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election have asked for a trial date in March 2024 — eight days before the Peach State’s presidential primary.
In a filing on Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis — whose office issued a 41-count indictment against Trump and others on Monday — requested a trial date of March 4, 2024.
That’s eight days before the state’s presidential primary, which is scheduled for March 12, 2024. Trump announced his candidacy for president in November.
Willis also proposed an arraignment date of Thursday, Sept. 5, 2023. That hearing will likely be broadcast live.
The filing did not overlook the fact that Trump is facing indictment in three other jurisdictions.
“In light of Defendant Donald John Trump’s other criminal and civil matters pending in the courts of our sister sovereigns, the State of Georgia proposes certain deadlines that do not conflict with these other courts’ already-scheduled hearings and trial dates,” the filing says. Willis argues that the proposed dates balance the defendants’ need to review discovery with “the public’s interest in a prompt resolution of the charges for which the Defendants have been indicted.”
Trump and more than a dozen allies — including well-known lawyers and aides such as Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and Mark Meadows — are accused of RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) violations, forgery, false statements, conspiracy to influence an election, perjury, and influencing witnesses.
The defendants named in the Fulton County indictment have until Friday, Aug. 25, to surrender. The Fulton County Sheriff has indicated that Trump will not receive special treatment and that a booking photo is likely.
Read Willis’ proposed trial schedule, below.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
