Fulton County Superior Court docket Decide Scott McAfee mentioned Wednesday he’s “very skeptical” of District Legal professional Fani Willis’s plan to place former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants on trial in October.
In August, Willis proposed a trial date of October 23, 2023, for all 19 defendants. Nevertheless, McAfee mentioned he’s skeptical and known as the schedule “a bit unrealistic.”
“It appears a bit unrealistic that we might deal with all 19 in 40-something days. That’s my preliminary response,” McAfee mentioned.
Georgia prosecutors estimated a trial for all 19 defendants would come with testimony from 150 witnesses and take 4 months to finish. McAffee ordered Georgia prosecutors to reply to his considerations in regards to the October trial date by Tuesday, after which he’ll resolve on the trial date for the opposite 17 defendants.
On Wednesday, Decide McAfee set former Trump legal professionals Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell’s trials for October 23 after these two expressed their rights to a speedy trial.
“We’re definitely right here, prepared and prepared to supply each defendants that proper, and we’re planning to make that October 23 trial date stick,” McAfee mentioned throughout Wednesday’s listening to.
Nevertheless, McAfee denied Chesebro and Powell’s request for his or her circumstances to be severed from each other.
On Thursday, Willis despatched a letter to Home Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), accusing him of making an attempt “to intrude with” her case towards Trump after he demanded she flip over all paperwork associated to the prosecution of the previous president and 18 of his allies.
“Turning first to the query of motivation, it’s noteworthy that simply 4 days earlier than this indictment, you launched a brand new marketing campaign fundraising web site that highlighted your investigation into President Trump,” Jordan wrote in his late-August letter to Willis.
Willis mentioned Jordan’s letter made clear he lacks “a primary understanding of the regulation, its follow, and the moral obligations of attorneys typically and prosecutors particularly.”
“Its apparent function is to impede a Georgia legal continuing and to advance outrageous misrepresentations,” Willis wrote of Jordan’s letter. “As I clarify under, there isn’t any justification within the Structure for Congress to intrude with a state legal matter, as you try to do.”
Willis additionally pushed again towards Jordan’s menace to analyze the Fulton County District Legal professional’s Workplace’s use of federal funds.
“Should you and your colleagues observe via in your threats to disclaim this workplace federal funds, please remember that you can be deciding to permit serial rapists to go unprosecuted, hate crimes to be unaddressed, and to cancel applications for at-risk youngsters,” Willis wrote. “Such vengeful, uncalled for legislative motion would impose critical hurt on the residents we serve, together with the truth that it is going to make them much less secure.”
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart Information. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or observe him on Twitter.