According to Mediate, Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade has provided an estimate of the scope and duration of the RICO trials involving former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants during a recent court proceeding. Wade, representing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office, appeared before Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in the first televised hearing related to the extensive RICO case.
During the hearing, Wade argued against a motion to sever the cases of co-defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell from the larger case. He also outlined the prosecution’s estimates for the trial:
- Trial Duration: Wade stated that the trial of the 19 co-defendants, excluding jury selection, is anticipated to last four months. This estimate is contingent on whether the defendants choose to testify or not. The four-month timeframe represents the prosecution’s best approximation of the trial’s duration.
- Number of Witnesses: Wade indicated that the prosecution plans to call more than 150 witnesses during the trial. This extensive list of witnesses is intended to support the state’s case and prove the entirety of the conspiracy charges against each defendant.
Judge McAfee sought clarification from Wade regarding the trial’s scope and whether there would be separate trials for some co-defendants. Wade clarified that the state’s position remains that all 19 co-defendants should proceed to trial together on October 23rd. However, the discussion about the estimated duration and the number of witnesses arose from the defense’s motion to sever the cases of Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro.
Wade’s assertion that the same number of witnesses and exhibits would be required regardless of whether the trial involves all 19 co-defendants or just Powell and Chesebro indicates the prosecution’s commitment to presenting a thorough case against each individual. The court will ultimately decide on the trial’s format and whether severance will be granted for certain defendants.
