CNN
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Tuesday she expects a trial in the 2020 Georgia election subversion case against Donald Trump and its allies would continue through the 2024 elections and may not conclude until early 2025.
“I believe in this case there will be a trial. I think the trial will take several months,” Willis said in an interview at Washington Post Live’s Global Women’s Summit. “And I don’t expect us to conclude until winter or very early 2025.”
As Trump begins his third presidential campaign, his legal problems persist collide with his campaign efforts, causing scheduling problems and uncertainty for both his lawyers and campaign staff. Although no trial date has been set for Trump in the Georgia case, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate is already facing trial. civil trial starting January 15, the same day as the Iowa caucuses; two criminal trials in March, the first beginning the day before Super Tuesday; and one third criminal case starting in May.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen charges in Willis’ sweeping racketeering case against Trump and 18 of his allies as part of efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Four defendants have since plea deals accepted in the case.
As Willis sought to try all defendants together, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in September, allowed two defendants who wanted a faster trial to separated from the groupAlthough they plea deals ultimately accepted last month. Although McAfee did not set a trial date at the time for the other defendants, the timetable he set meant it would not begin until December.
Willis said she thinks appeals in this case could last for years. She said she does not take election cycles into account when making decisions about which cases to pursue, noting that many people in the United States are under investigation for crimes ranging from theft to display to the point of murder.
“It would be a really sad day if, while you are under investigation for this shoplifting charge, you could go to the city council and have the investigation stop,” Willis said . “It’s madness, and it’s madness on every level.”
CNN Kristen Holmes And Alayna Treene contributed to this report.