'Game on': Trump co-defendant slammed by ex-prosecutor for 'risky' legal move
Kenneth Chesebro, one of the attorneys for former President Donald Trump accused of engineering the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election, is now filing a motion to have his trial proceed as quickly as possible — a move some experts have suggested is designed to split him off from the rest of Trump's co-defendants in Georgia and give him a better chance of acquittal.
But this maneuver has some serious risks attached to it, noted former Mueller investigation prosecutor Andrew Weissmann on MSNBC's "The Last Word" Wednesday.
"What do you make of the speedy trial request by Kenneth Chesebro?" said anchor Lawrence O'Donnell.
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"Well, look, it is [Fulton County prosecutor] Fani Willis' burden," said Weissmann. "She knows it's her burden. She has to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. And I would assume that the reason for the delay, as [co-panelist and former federal prosecutor] Barb [McQuade] mentioned, was that she knew this was a possibility because of this unique feature in Georgia law, when someone demands a speedy trial. It's not that dissimilar than in federal court. But it is rare that somebody does this, as Barb said."
On one hand, noted Weissman, "sometimes it can play to an advantage," pointing to the trial of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), indicted for failing to properly report gifts in a trial that would become a massive headache for the Justice Department.
"But what I have seen, when I have seen it rarely done, I think, even when both sides are bracing to prepare, the government usually wins on that," added Weissmann. "This is a really risky gambit for the defense to do. If Fani Willis has her ducks in a row, this is what trials are for. If the defendant is entitled to a speedy trial, then it really is, as Barb said, game on. And the jury will decide and it's Fani Willis' burden to prove this matter. But it is risky on the part of the defense to do this."
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