A state appeals court on Wednesday rejected a request by Donald Trump’s lawyers to delay proceedings in the former president’s racketeering and election subversion case in Georgia until 2025.
Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, had asked the judge to postpone oral arguments until January 2025 in order to accommodate long-ago scheduled international travel plans.
“It was booked more than two years in advance to ensure a date certain to celebrate lead counsel’s 70th birthday and 45th wedding anniversary,” Sadow explained in a July 23 motion obtained by Atlanta-based NBC affiliate WXIA. “It is fully paid for and nonrefundable except for health-related issues
In a one-sentence-long order, the Georgia Court of Appeals declined the request. The court did not provide a reason for the decision, which means oral arguments are slated to be held on December 5.
It comes as prosecutors are likely keen to get the ball rolling in the case a year after a Georgia grand jury accused Trump and others of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump has denied all charges against him.
The case has been delayed ever since, with no prospect of going to trial, after one of Trump’s co-defendants, Michael Roman, a Trump campaign staffer and former White House aide, alleged in a court filing that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had improperly engaged in a romantic relationship with lawyer Nathan Wade, whom she had picked to lead the prosecution against Trump and 18 others.
In the court filing, Roman alleged that Willis financially benefited from the case, alleging that Wade used his earnings to fund trips they took together. He added that this created a conflict of interest, warranting the removal of Willis and her office from the case. Willis and Wade acknowledged their relationship but said they shared the travel and other expenses.
At a hearing, a judge accused Willis of a “tremendous lapse in judgment” but found no conflict of interest that merited her removal, as long as Wade left the case. Wade resigned hours later.
Trump and other defendants have appealed the ruling, with the Georgia Court of Appeals scheduled to hear arguments in December, putting the racketeering case on hold. If the losing side appeals to the Georgia Supreme Court, the case will delayed further.
It is unclear if Willis would be able to move forward with any prosecution if Trump is elected president in November.
Adding to the complexity, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts within their “exclusive sphere of constitutional authority” and are generally entitled to immunity for all official actions. However, they are not shielded from prosecution for unofficial or private actions.
The indictment in the racketeering case relates to a January 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during which Trump urged the state’s top elections official to help him “find” the votes he needed to win. Other charges involve organizing a group of Republican electors to falsely assert that Trump won the state, accusations of harassing a Georgia election worker, and allegations of tampering with election equipment in a rural county in southern Georgia.
Four co-defendants have accepted plea deals in the case, while six others have rejected plea deals.
Other high-profile people charged along with the former president include his White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and conservative attorney Sidney Powell.
— Newsweek
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