There were several notable developments Thursday in the Georgia election interference case. Here are some of them.
Plan of attack
First, let’s talk about the emotions expressed during Thursday’s hearing on the motions filed by attorneys for Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, two of the 19 co-defendants in the case. Emotions can actually play a role in how these attorneys advocate for either the state of Georgia or their clients.
Chesebro’s attorneys have essentially told the court what they plan to argue to get this case dismissed. They claim that they want to speak to the jurors who returned the indictment because they apparently believe that someone else from the prosecution was in the jury room during deliberations, which would be inappropriate and impermissible.
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One of the defense attorneys also claimed during the hearing that attorneys sitting at the bar table Thursday for the state of Georgia were subpoenaed by judges for behaving inappropriately toward previous grand juries.
So it sounds like the defense teams are laying the groundwork to be able to present in court some sort of allegation of impropriety or wrongful conduct by the state of Georgia in securing the grand jury indictment.
Knives are out
The other thing you saw during the hearing was the fact that the knives are outside. Any kind of “let’s be professional and nice” attitude fell flat. I think you actually saw the lawyers say, “We don’t care that the cameras are here” – and yet the defense showed a certain arrogance in trying to take the state to task, claiming defamation and tried to play to perhaps their own customers.
Easter eggs
The decision on the defendant’s severance pay requests contains some really good Easter eggs. That order stated that Chesebro and Powell would be separated from the other defendants and their trial would begin around October 23rd.
Judge Scott McAfee during a Sept. 6 hearing with attorneys representing former Donald Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta. Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal Constitution Pool
The order notes that the judge intends to complete jury selection for that trial by Nov. 3. So what does that mean? Unlike some other more complicated cases with multiple defendants, since there are only two defendants, the judge by law intends the trial to conclude no later than November 3 to ensure a quick trial window. And that’s why you can put in your bottom dollar once the jury is in. Opening statements begin almost immediately. That gives us an idea that this case won’t actually start in 2024 and that jury selection won’t take forever and a day.
Finally, in a footnote to this order, the Court noted that if other defendants file a motion for a speedy trial, other members of the Fulton County bench stand ready to grant a second trial within this term in November/December begin. This means Judge Scott McAfee can begin the jury selection process on October 23rd. If any of the defendants who have not yet joined Chesebro and Powell at this point requests a speedy trial, another judge in Fulton County will begin a separate jury selection process.
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So there are a lot of moving parts here, but a lot of it is what the judge is trying to contain as much as possible because there are obviously some serious competing interests.
This is an excerpt from Katie Phang’s appearance on Jose Díaz-Balart Reports on Thursday. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
