While former President Donald Trump was commanding all the media’s attention on his way to the Fulton County jail, county prosecutor Fani Willis was requesting a new date for Trump’s trial… five months ahead of the date previously requested.
On Thursday, Willis filed to move the trial to Monday, Oct. 23. Willis had previously requested a trial on March 4, 2024, one day before Super Tuesday in the GOP’s presidential primaries.
Willis supposedly requested a March trial in order to allow Trump some time to prepare and to accommodate the three other trials against Trump. In the interest of time, Willis would agree to an extension only with “express permission from the Court.”
“The State of Georgia proposes certain deadlines that do not conflict with these other courts’ already-scheduled hearings and trial dates,” Willis wrote in her Aug. 16 motion to request a March trial. “Further, the proposed dates are requested so as to allow the Defendants’ needs to review discovery and prepare for trial but also to protect the State of Georgia’s and the public’s interest in a prompt resolution.”
In that filing, Willis failed to address concerns about interfering with the campaign season.
Trump, a presidential candidate, maintains his innocence and has accused Willis of selective enforcement. The Trump campaign said in a statement, “Willis has strategically stalled her investigation to try and maximally interfere with the 2024 presidential race and damage the dominant Trump campaign.”
Trump’s co-defendants requested a sooner date not because of Super Tuesday, but because of their Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial
Co-defendant Kenneth Cheseboro — one of Trump’s 18 co-defendants — filed a “demand for a speedy trial.”
Evidently, Willis agreed.
Willis requested for an earlier trial only three days after another prosecutor’s refusal to grant one. On Monday, Special Counsel Jack Smith refused Trump’s request for a 2026 trial in the federal case related to the Capitol riot in Washington, D.C.
Trump plans to surrender to arrest Thursday afternoon at the Fulton County jail, but he’s set to be arraigned in court on Sept. 5. In Georgia, defendants are not always arraigned on the day of booking.
Take a look at the Fulton County’s preparations for Trump’s arrival —
PHOTO: @FultonSheriff Pat Labat keeping a close eye on a sea of press, trump supporters / critics, and anyone else who dares fight the traffic around Fulton County Jail on this hot and newsworthy day in Georgia. #FultonCounty #ATL #NEWS pic.twitter.com/klHTpIqbaR
— Billy Heath III (@BillyHeathFOX5) August 24, 2023
Read more: Trump’s trial in Washington, D.C., headed for a new, earlier date
The Horn editorial team