ATLANTA (CN) — Prosecutors pursuing a 41-count indictment against former President Donald Trump and 18 others for alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election said Wednesday that the trial would likely span four months.
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade offered the estimate during a hearing before Fulton County Court Judge Scott McAfee that, unlike proceedings in the other three criminal cases surrounding Trump, was broadcast live on television and the judge's YouTube channel.
Wade said the state intends to call more than 150 witnesses during the trial. But his prediction did not include jury selection, which could also take months.
The judge noted that juror questioning and witness cross-examination in particular are likely to take substantial time. In a separate Fulton County racketeering case against the Bloods-affiliated gang Young Slime Life, juror selection has lasted eight months and no jurors have been selected. The case initially involved 28 defendants, including hip-hop artist Young Thug, but now only 14 of them will be tried together.
Judge McAfee scheduled the hearing for arguments from two defendants, attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, who want to be tried separately. The judge decided the two will stand trial together and adhered to their request for a speedy trial, set to begin on Oct. 23.
McAfee, who was confirmed to the bench in February, said he was "very skeptical" of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' intent to try the remaining defendants' cases together on that date, but would hear more arguments on the matter. He gave prosecutors until Tuesday to respond in a court brief.
"The state's position is that whether we have one trial or 19 trials, the evidence is exactly the same," said Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten. "The number of witnesses is the same."
Chesebro and Powell are among the 19 defendants including Trump in the Georgia racketeering case that accuses them of "knowingly and willfully" joining "a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump" following the 2020 presidential election. All 19 defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Defendants have already begun presenting legal challenges: trying to separate their case from the others, demanding a speedy trial, attempting to move the charges against them from state to federal court.
Trump, who leads as the early frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has asked to be tried apart from any defendant who files a speedy trial demand.
Meanwhile, Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is waiting for a ruling from a federal judge on whether his case should be transferred to federal court. Last week U.S. District Judge Steve Jones heard testimony from Meadows, who sought to be tried in front of a federal judge because he was acting in his capacity as a government official at the time the alleged actions took place.
Four other defendants are also seeking to move their cases to federal court and have hearings set before Jones later this month.
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