“The indictment was filed at approximately 10:30 PM on Monday August 14, 2023, while the Motion was filed at 12:49 PM on August 16, 2023,” the motion reads, pointing out that not one of the 19 defendants named has even yet “been served with any warrant, taken into custody, had a first appearance, or been arraigned, or waived arraignment.”
“In other words, when the Motion was filed, not even a single defendant had either submitted to or been properly subjected to the jurisdiction of the Court in this case.”
His lawyer noted in the motion that Mr. Clark does not concede jurisdiction in the county court, “especially not at this early, pre-service-of-process juncture.”
As Mr. Clark was acting in his official capacity as a federal government official, he is expected to, like co-defendant Mark Meadows, former chief of staff to the president, file a motion to remove his case to federal court, where they would seek dismissal.
“Mr. Clark reserves all defenses to the State’s indictment, including ... operation of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, federal immunities based on his status as a high-ranking federal officer at the time of the alleged events, unconstitutional overbreadth, the prospect of federal removal jurisdiction, and failure to state a violation of law.”
His attorney noted that as far as he was aware, the state also had yet to make any attempts to confer with the 19 defendants’ counsel regarding the proposed schedule. Neither he nor Mr. Clark received any correspondence from Ms. Willis’s office, he added, and while some co-defendants received “target letters,” his client did not.
Scale
Legal experts, including the former president’s own counsel, have pointed out that the sheer scale of the case Ms. Willis has brought—19 defendants, 161 counts of racketeering, 40 other counts in a 98-page indictment—warrants a long timeline. The remarks came after Ms. Willis said Monday she intended to bring the case to trial in six months, and continued when she proposed on Wednesday a March 4, 2024, trial start.The ‘Prize’ of Trying Trump
Mr. Clark requested that the March 4, 2024, trial date to be thrown out not just because of its impracticality, but also because it revealed the “political nature” of the case.“For multiple reasons, we are gravely concerned about the political nature of this case and the steps taken by the State thus far,” the filing reads. It argues that the date “could be interpreted as an attempt to stake out a place at the head of the line of prosecutors seeking the ‘prize’ of trying the former President before the 2024 presidential election.”
March 4 is one day before “Super Tuesday,” when 15 states will hold their presidential primaries, and eight days before Georgia’s own presidential primary.
“The legal significance of the manifest politicization of this case, as the District Attorney has pursued it and is attempting to frame it, will be the subject of future filings,” the filing reads.
In another case President Trump faces regarding the 2020 elections, he has asked for a 2026 trial date.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the district attorney’s office.
