Fulton State Judge Scott McAfee on Thursday rejected the prosecutor's request for the Georgia election interference case to try all 19 defendants at once next October. After this decision of McAfee, the date of the trial of Donald Trump on this judicial front is again in the air.
The judge's order becomes a blow to Fani Willis, the Democratic prosecutor for this case, who intended to try all the defendants at once and as soon as possible. Willis' intention was to put Trump on trial off guard. The former president argued that the October date was too early to be able to properly organize his defense.
Two of the defendants in the Georgia election interference case, Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, asked the court to enjoy their right to a speedy trial, so the October date was raised.
For now, according to The Hill, the only safe date for Trump in this case is the first of December, the deadline to file motions before the trial. Judge McAfee cited logistical as well as organizational problems to justify his decision. According to the judge, the courtrooms of Fulton County are not spacious enough for so many defendants at once. Along with this, the needs and particularities of each one make it easier to separate them.
"“The Fulton County Courthouse simply contains no courtroom adequately large enough to hold all 19 defendants, their multiple attorneys and support staff, the sheriff’s deputies, court personnel, and the State’s prosecutorial team. Relocating to another larger venue raises security concerns that cannot be rapidly addressed,” McAfee says in his brief.
With this same decision, McAfee also rejects requests by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and others to pause their proceedings while they try to move their accusations to federal court.
