Prosecutors Tell Judge Trump Election Crimes Trial Will Have Whopping 150 Witnesses — Take Four Months
Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade told Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that the RICO trials of ex-President Donald Trump and his co-defendants will feature 150 witnesses and take four months.
On Wednesday afternoon, Wade — representing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office — appeared before Judge Mcafee along with from attorneys for co-defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell in the first televised proceeding in a sweeping RICO case involving the ex-president.
Wade argued against a motion to sever the co-defendants’ cases from the sprawling case — and also gave the judge his estimate of the trial’s scope:
NATHAN WADE: While Mr. Wooten is chomping at the bit to address some of the arguments that counsel has made, I’ll just briefly lay out a few things that the court has asked the state to be prepared to respond to.
Firstly, we will contend that a trial of these 19 co-defendants will take four months, and that does not include jury selection. And it’s also predicated upon whether or not, of course, the defendants elected to testify or not. But four months is our is our time estimate.
In terms of the number of witnesses there, in excess of 150 witnesses that the state intends to call, 150 witnesses. And Judge, we contend that we must prove the entire conspiracy against each and every one charged, each and every one charge. So the court, in the interest of judicial economy, would have to make the decision as to whether or not the court wants to try the same case 19 times or to do so.
JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE: Well, to be clear, when you say two, is your position evolved from your filings of last week or from lately?
NATHAN WADE: It hadn’t. It hadn’t, Judge. I just threw out the number four just just to give the court that the difference in the number of times and the number of man hours it would take to try the case once or twice.
JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE: Well, when you say twice, who’s involved in each case.
NATHAN WADE: Obviously, to who who have requested severance here.
JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE: All right. Because up to this point, I thought the state’s position was all 19 need to go on October 23rd.
NATHAN WADE: It is. It is. And that continues to be our position.
JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE: Okay. And just to clarify that and flesh that out a bit, you’re saying that right now you would predict that if it was just a trial of Ms. Powell and Mr. Chesebro, that the state’s going to need those same amount of witnesses, those same amount of exhibits in the same amount of time?
NATHAN WADE: Absolutely.
Watch above via CNN.
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