Last night after the indictment against Trump and 18 others dropped, Fulton County DA indicated in a short press conference when she wanted the trial to begin.
You won’t be shocked by what she said:
In a press conference, DA Willis gave Trump and all his fellow accused until noon on 25 August to surrender to police.
She added that she hoped to get a trial date within the next six months and planned to try all 19 defendants together.— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 15, 2023
Within the next six months. Of course. Just like Jack Smith. Right in the middle of the election. If that doesn’t tell you this is political….
But no matter what Willis recommends, the date will be up to Judge Scott McAfee, who was just appointed this year by Governor Brian Kemp:
ABC NEWS – Former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants drew the newest judge on the Superior Court of Fulton County — Scott McAfee.
Appointed to the bench by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and sworn in on Feb. 1, 2023, McAfee most recently served as the Georgia inspector general, where he was tasked with overseeing fraud and corruption within Georgia’s executive branch.
“Scott McAfee is a strong addition to my administration,” Kemp said in the statement in 2021 about McAfee’s appointment. “His experience as a tough prosecutor equips him to search out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption, and bring those to justice who break the law.”
Across his ten-year career as a lawyer, McAfee has spent all but six months in public service, notably working for three and a half years with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. He also worked as a federal prosecutor in Georgia and as an assistant district attorney in Barrow County, Georgia.
Despite his brief tenure, McAfee has made at least one significant ruling about how he might approach the public statements made by Trump in the lead up to trial.
In June, McAfee fined pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood $5,000 in contempt of court for violating an order against insulting his former legal associates.
“I can’t overlook the protracted and flagrant nature of the violation,” McAfee said of Wood’s disparaging comments, threatening to fine him $15,000 for future violations.
Hopefully McAfee will be fair to Trump and the other 18 in this case.