Fox News contributor and constitutional lawyer Jonathan Turley explained Sunday how Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ case against former President Donald Trump seems to “break down.”
Trump surrendered to authorities Thursday where he was fingerprinted and had a mug shot taken at the Fulton County Jail after a grand jury indicted him on allegations of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. Trump was released on a $200,000 bond.
Willis is seeking to try all 19 defendants together, a move that many say will likely be impossible.
“Fani Willis wanted to try all 19 together which most of us seems like a very ambitious undertaking. You’ve already had one split off and be granted a speedy trial with Sidney Powell also seeking that. And then we have five, at least, The New York Times reporting, they want to move over to federal court. So how would that work? Do you think there’s a chance it gets granted and how would it benefit these defendants?” host Shannon Bream asked. (RELATED: ‘This Is A Big Deal’: Elie Honig Lays Out Bombshell Move That ‘Could Throw A Wrench’ In Fani Willis’ Plans)
“It’s going to be hard to make it work. It’s like a potato sack race with 38 legs. It’s hard enough to do it with 2 people. These people are very different in many respects. They’re charged with a wide variety of crimes. She links them altogether with this conspiracy theory that at points seems to break down. It will be hard to see how you could do this. There’s a compelling argument for Trump and Meadows and perhaps others that they should be removed to federal court under a federal statute. Others are going to want a speedy trial,” Turley said.
“A speedy trial may be an advantage if nothing else — not to be tried en masse — because what the Georgia prosecutors want to do is to try to get a mass prosecution, hopefully a mass conviction. That’s not gonna sit well. Some of these people said, you know what, give me a speedy trial. So you’re gonna have this thing fracture potentially along these lines. Because a lot of defendants like most defendants are gonna say no, we’re waving a speedy trial. There is a lot of evidence here and we need time to get through it.”
Turley was referencing co-defendant and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ move asking for a federal court to block Willis from arresting him as he tries to get his case moved from state court to federal court. Other defendants, meanwhile, have pushed for a speedy trial. CNN’s Elie Honig explained that if certain defendants are granted the right to a speedy trial while others fight to have their cases moved, that means some of the defendants could appear in court before Trump, Meadows or others.
“And what do you do if you’re Trump’s team? You sit back, you watch every minute of that first trial, you see all the government’s witnesses, you see them cross-examine, you take notes. It’s like seeing the other teams’ playbook opened up in front of you,” Honig explained.