ON YOUR OWN

Trump Wants to Ditch Co-Defendants Seeking Speedy Trial

The move comes a week after one of his co-defendants, Kenneth Chesebro, appeared to try and force Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ hand by demanding a lightning-fast trial date.

Donald Trump is predictably trying to ditch his speedy trial-seeking co-defendants in Georgia, a Thursday court filing shows. “President Trump moves the Court to sever his case from those of his co-defendants who have demanded a speedy trial… and who have a scheduled trial date of October 23, 2023,” the court document says. The move comes a week after one of his co-defendants, Kenneth Chesebro, appeared to try and force Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ hand by demanding a lightning-fast trial date. Willis apparently called his bluff when she proposed an October 23 start date for all 19 co-defendants. Later that day, Trump told the court that he opposed Chesebro’s demand, and was going to move to sever his case from his ex-lawyer. Now, the former president has officially moved to do so, claiming that the expedited start date would “violate President Trump’s federal and state constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law.” Trump is being charged alongside 18 co-defendants for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.