Sept. 6 (UPI) — Prosecutors told a Georgia judge in a hearing Wednesday that it will take about four months to try former President Donald Trump and 18 others indicted in a conspiracy to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade told Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee the prosecution will call “in excess of” 150 witnesses — not including any defendants who may elect to testify.
The issue before Wednesday’s hearing in Atlanta was a request from lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell for a speedy trial and to sever their cases from the others — either together or separately from each other.
Their attorneys argue that trying them with the other defendants would prejudice the jury against them. Each has motioned separately for a speedy trial.
“We contend that we must prove the entire conspiracy against each and every one charged,” Wade told the judge. “The court, in the interest of judicial economy, would have to make the decision as to whether the court wants to try the same case 19 times or two.”
Wade clarified that the prosecution’s preference is to try all defendants together. McAfee asked if the prosecution would call the same number of witnesses and present the same exhibits in a separate trial for Chesebro and Powell.
Wade responded, “absolutely.”
The prosecution has requested to begin the trial on Oct. 23.
The hearing on severance could last into next week.
Scott Grubman, lead counsel for Chesebro, argued that the 98-page indictment contains up to five separate conspiracies and Chesebro was involved in only one: pushing the legal theory that spawned the so-called “fake electors” scheme.
Grubman described Chesebro’s role as sending “approximately 18 emails, all in his role as attorney for the Trump campaign.”
Attorney Manubir Arora downplayed Chesebro’s role further, saying he was involved in the “intellectual part of this case.”
“We wrote something talking about the [Electoral Count Act] and how the 12th Amendment works,” he said. “And then specifically we sent two emails to the head of the Republican Party as alleged. That’s it.”
Brian Rafferty, lead counsel for Powell, similarly downplayed his client’s role in the fake elector scheme. He argued that evidence will show she was not the “driving force” in the scheme to illegally access voting machines in Coffee County, Ga.
“Ms. Powell had nothing to do with most of it,” Rafferty said. “Frankly, your honor, the way the government has characterized that, the evidence is going to show they’re incorrect. There were other attorneys in this case that were actually the driving force in that.”
