Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is requesting a March 4, 2024, trial date for former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the Georgia general elections case, a proposal that would put the Republican presidential candidate on trial a day before he competes in the “Super Tuesday” primary contests.
Ms. Willis says she plans to try all 19 defendants together.
By March 4, the traditionally early states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, will already have held their primaries. Super Tuesday, which is set for March 5, is the busiest day of the presidential primary calendar; a handful of primaries will be held across the country, from California and Texas to Massachusetts and Maine.
Georgia’s March 12 primary date was set by Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, who said in May that Democrats had pushed for an earlier date. President Trump is also facing a Jan. 2, 2024, trial in Washington, another March trial date in New York, and a May trial in Florida.
“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 in a prompt resolution.” A judge will set the final date.
Lawyers for President Trump didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
The district attorney’s office is requesting arraignments to take place the week of Sept. 5, followed by 10 days for discovery and materials sent by Sept. 29. It proposes that all motions and notices be filed by Oct. 31, and that hearings for these begin on Dec. 11.
The proposed final pretrial conference date is Feb. 20, 2024, with a trial start date of March 4.
19 Defendants Named
Besides President Trump, the defendants are his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; his former attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis; attorneys Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Ray Smith III, and Robert Cheeley; former Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark; GOP strategist Michael Roman; Georgia alternate electors Shawn Still, Cathleen Latham, and former head of the Georgia Republican Party David Shafer; Illinois pastor Stephen Lee; Harrison Floyd, vice president for the Black Conservative Federation, who is also involved in Black Voices for Trump; Trevian Kutti, former publicist for Kanye West; Scott Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman and Fulton County Republican poll watcher; and Misty Hampton, also known as Misty Emily Hayes, former Coffee County elections supervisor.Arrest warrants have been issued and defendants have until noon on Aug. 25 to voluntarily surrender, Ms. Willis said at a press conference.
Mr. Meadows asked on Aug. 15 for his case to be removed to federal court, and Mr. Giuliani has said he will do the same. Others are expected to do the same, as they were acting in their official capacities as staff and counsel for the president regarding federal matters.
Mr. Giuliani said in an Aug. 15 radio appearance that the district attorney’s projected six-month timeline to try 19 defendants together is laughable, as racketeering cases he tried with more than 20 defendants took more than two years.
