Here's the real reason Fani Willis moved to fast-track Trump RICO cases: legal expert
Fani Willis requested to fast-track all 19 defendants including Donald Trump over efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results even though she knows her request likely isn’t going anywhere, but former federal prosecutor Elie Honig during an appearance on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” suggested that the Fulton County DA likely had other reasons for the request.
Willis’ filing on Tuesday followed the requests of two co-defendants – Ken Chesebro and Sidney Powell – to have their cases expedited to October.
Trump along with his co-defendants earlier this month were indicted on allegations they tried to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election. The case is being tried under the state’s racketeering law.
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“Is this a reasonable request from Fani Willis to try all 19 defendants in this case, at the same time in October?” guest host Alex Marquardt asked Honig.
“No, Alex, I don't believe that Fani Willis thinks it's a reasonable request,” Honig said. “Here's the way this works. The right to a speedy trial belongs to the defendant, not to the prosecutor here. So if the defendant wants to insist on the right to a speedy trial, as Mr. Chesebro and Sidney Powell have done, then yes, you have the right to be tried under Georgia law, in this case, by November."
He continued:
“But the prosecutor cannot force people who are unwilling to exercise that right to be tried that quickly. I think what Fani Willis is doing here is, A, she's making a statement, and that's perfectly appropriate, to say we're ready on everybody, and B, she's trying to get clarity from the giant. How many trials will there be and when will they be?”
Legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers echoed Honig’s view during the same segment.
“There's no way 19 people can be tried together logistically,” she said.
Rodgers questioned the wisdom of Powell and Chesebro moving for speedy trials.
“I think it's actually foolish of the two of them to want to trial in two months, so I think Fani Willis just wants to get a date certain on the calendar for the 17 others, which is also another group she’ll have to thin down before trial because even 17 is just not going to happen logistically,” Rodgers said.
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