Judge rules Trump and co-defendants must be tried separately, not all together.

A state judge in Georgia has denied the prosecutors’ request to consolidate all 19 defendants for the Georgia 2020 election interference case scheduled for next month. On Thursday, Sept. 14, Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee rejected a request from the prosecutors in a case relating to 2020 election interference in the State of Georgia.

“The Court joins the skepticism expressed by several federal courts that denying severance always ensures efficiency, especially in ‘mega trials’ such as this,” McAfee wrote in his court order, The Hill reports. This means District Attorney Fani Willis’s strategy of forcing all 19 defendants, including ex-President Donald Trump, to stand trial together is not possible.

McAfee did not set an official trial date in his ruling, but it is expected that Trump will delay the case as long as possible. Other defendants, such as Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, will be tried together due to their lack of ability to demonstrate a need to separate their cases. Part of McAfee’s ruling indicates that the judicial logistics required to try nineteen defendants at once does not exist, writing in his judgement that the Fulton County Courthouse does not have a large enough courtroom to make such an arrangement feasible before writing “Relocating to another larger venue raises security concerns that cannot be rapidly addressed.”

Willis had previously argued that the defendants could be tried together because the courthouse could accommodate a trial of all defendants together at the same time. However, Judge McAfee does not seem to share this notion. He also indicated that such a high-profile case could have adverse effects on the local criminal justice system.

“We must consider the ripple effects of a months-long, multi-defendant trial on the local criminal justice system,” wrote McAfee in his ruling. He was not inclined to allow defendants such as former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to pause their prosecutions while they try to move their case to the federal court system.

“However, as appeals to the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court could take months to resolve even if expedited, the Court does not intend to delay pretrial litigation,” McAfee wrote in his decision. “Pending the removal appeals, Defendants are expected at a minimum to review discovery and prepare their pretrial motions. The arguments within these motions should mirror whatever would be filed if this case is removed, lessening concerns regarding unnecessarily expended resources.”

It is clear that Judge McAfee is not willing to budge on his decision, meaning all 19 defendants will have to face the Georgia 2020 election interference case separately. With the Fulton County Courthouse unable to accommodate such a large trial, it's likely that this case will take some time to resolve.

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