(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Though he said that he would move forward with plans for an Oct. 23 trial, the Georgia judge presiding over former President Donald Trump‘s upcoming 2020 racketeering case expressed concerns about bringing all of the defendants to court at such a rapid-fire pace, Politico reported.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who will handle the case, noted that prosecutor Fani Willis’s proposed timeline will be difficult to meet.
“It just seems a bit unrealistic to think that we can handle all 19 in forty-something days,” McAfee said at a recent hearing, casting doubt on the proposed timeline just as things began getting under way.
Despite the difficult timeline, McAfee said that he would do his best to keep things on time.
“We’re planning to make that Oct. 23 trial date stick,” the judge said, referring to the cases of two Trump allies, attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, who have been charged together despite acting independently of each other and not knowing each other.
The trial as a whole, according to prosecutors, is expected to last approximately four months.
“That is our time estimate,” prosecutor Nathan Wade told McAfee, adding that he expected a jury to be selected promptly.
Further complicating an already-complex situation, McAfee noted last week that there could be months of uncertainty regarding the validity of state court proceedings.
“It could potentially even be a six-month turnaround just for the 11th Circuit to come up with a decision,” said McAfee, referring to an Atlanta federal appeals court that would handle parts of the case.
“Where does that leave us in the middle of a jury trial?” the judge queried.
Despite the rushed process, Chesebro’s defense attorney, Scott Grubman, made note of an important point: that Chesebro’s role in crafting Trump’s strategy after the 2020 election is not substantially different from casting a vote for Trump.
“Before we know it, millions of people, literally millions of people, could’ve been charged in this conspiracy,” Grubman said.
“Half of the United States took some act towards electing Donald Trump. … If that were the only thing that mattered in terms of connecting these as a common conspiracy, there would be no rules of due process.”