Trump opposes October trial start in Georgia election case

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday opposed a request by an Atlanta prosecutor that he stand trial starting Oct. 23 in his Georgia election interference criminal case.

Trump’s new lawyer Steve Sadow in a court filing also notified a judge that Trump soon will file another motion to sever his case from a co-defendant, the attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who on Wednesday had demanded a speedy trial in Fulton County Superior Court.

“President Trump further respectfully puts the Court on notice that he requests the Court set a scheduling conference at its earliest convenience so he can be heard on the State’s motions for entry of pretrial scheduling order and to specially set trial,” Sadow wrote.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis earlier Thursday asked Judge Scott McAfee to schedule the trial of Trump, Chesbro and all other 17 co-defendants to begin Oct. 23.

Willis directly cited Chesebro’s demand for a speedy trial in her filing.

Chesebro’s lawyers, Scott Grubman and Manny Arora, in a statement to NBC News, “Mr. Chesebro will be prepared to move forward with trial for whatever date the Court ultimately sets.”Trump is due to surrender later Thursday to be booked in the case.

Trump and the other defendants were indicted last week on charges related to an alleged criminal enterprise that sought to overturn his loss in Georgia’s 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

The DA’s request for a trial in the next two months, at least for Trump and most of the other defendants besides Chesebro, is unlikely to be granted due to the complexity of the case, and the large amount of evidence she collected over an investigation that began early 2021.

That evidence has yet to be turned over to the defendants, only half of whom have surrendered to be booked.