Former President Trump won’t be tried next month alongside two of his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case who opted for a speedy trial, a judge ruled on Thursday. Judge Scott McAfee said it was a “procedural and logistical inevitability” that Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro must have their trial severed from that of Trump and the other 16 co-defendants in the racketeering indictment, reports the Wall Street Journal. "Defendants Chesebro and Powell will join each other at trial, however, the other 17 defendants are severed from these two,” McAfee wrote. He hasn’t yet set a trial date for the other defendants. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis urged McAfee to try all 19 defendants together on Oct. 23—the date set for Chesebro and Powell, two pro-Trump lawyers who backed his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Willis told McAfee that it would be logistically easier to try all the defendants at once rather than in several trials that could potentially run concurrently before multiple judges and juries. Trump said he doesn’t want to be tried with Chesebro, Powell, or any other defendants seeking a speedy trial. McAfee said he may break the remaining co-defendants into smaller groups as the case moves forward. Powell is accused of conspiring to commit election fraud by breaching the election office in Coffee County, a staunchly Republican area 200 miles from Atlanta. Powell allegedly orchestrated an illegal effort to access voting data to back up claims that voting machines were used to manipulate the presidential vote. Powell said her actions were authorized by Coffee County officials.
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