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the potential trial will look like. the fulton county d.a. fani willis made clear she's ready to go to trial now. she asked for an october 23rd, 2023 trial date yesterday. that's two months from now and incredibly aggressive timeline for her. trump made clear yesterday through his lawyers that he really does not have any intention of having a speedy trial. he wants to play this out, delay as long as he possibly can, so we'll have to litigate those elements of the case going forward, but as of now, the first step is almost there, we have 17 of 19 defendants who have surrendered and can look ahead to how a particular trial might play out. >> zachary cohen for us outside the fulton county courthouse, thank you. with us, cnn senior legal analyst elie honig. what a week it has been. and there is so much ahead. let's begin with these efforts to -- look, so many. let's begin with the efforts to some of them move their case to federal court, because that's the hearing on monday. that's what that's about. >> we have 19 defendants and we
massive numbers of republicans think he's been pursued, hounded, politically persecuted, whatever you want to call it. they have no intention of supporting him ever again. they do believe that. there is an undercurrent of that already. but the people who decide elections are sort of, you know, independent, center right independents in the suburbs around atlanta, around phoenix, around raleigh and other places. they do -- they are not going to vote for a convicted felon. they're not going to do it. this election cannot be a referendum on whether it is okay to be a convicted felon and the president. if you want to win, every republican i know wants it to be a referendum among biden. >> i have the same thought as you. the goal posts keep moving. it was, well, he's been impeached but not accused of a crime and now he's accused of a time. what will be said if he gets convicted, let's say the conviction is in april, let's say any of them, the response is going to be, well, he still has his appeal rights and we think that trial wasn't held legitimately, there is always
so, he may have gambled on that being the reason. you know, the downside for donald trump is very little. except that this guarantees that there will be evidence presented of a conspiracy involving him, because he is the main conspirator, a codefendant. so evidence about him and his conduct will be part of the chesebro trial. so i think that is a big risk to donald trump if it goes ahead as planned. and he is not in the courtroom to defend himself or anything that is said about him. so i think there's some real downsides, mostly for the defendant rather than for the prosecutor. i think she is ready. >> yes, and i guess, joe, both of you probably get this all over your twitter for the last couple of years, right? why are these cases not brought? why has garland not done this? why is jack smith not done that? these were not rushed indictments. i mean, they were done over a
this can ruin a person financially, your liberty is at stake, your family is at stake, i've seen many people in these situations and ultimately it is a question of loyalty. i say this to potential cooperators, do you value yourself, your family, your own situation or are you going to be loyal to the person who got you in this mess? i do think people will be wrestling with that question as we speak. >> so the chesebro trial is going to start in 60 days, right? we'll start to see evidence, there will be cameras in the courtroom. before the announcement of this trial start date, what was expected maybe were hearings on delays and we need more time, we need documents. what will be the political impact of seeing this? is it as appealing then? >> i think the political impact on trump won't really hit until he goes on trial. and honestly for most republicans they consider all of this to be political until a jury gets it. i don't know when that's going to be for him and all of his cases, i think that's the line of demarcation here.
going quickly has down sides. less time to consider the evidence. less time for making pretrial motions. you don't have the same amount of time to structure your case and build the best defense possible. taking time has a downside as well. you will end up at trial potentially with former president trump which is the worst-case scenario if you are one of those ear defendants. that means the full scope of this case is going to be on display for a jury and you are going to be next to the former president and that's always tough. you don't want to be next to the big boss. you want to be seen as far away from him as possible. >> put the 19 defendants back up. elie, when we look at below the trump, you know, eastman, jenna ellis level and names people don't know, how influential will the chesebro trial be? if you are considering a plea deal do you say i will hold off until i watch this trial. >> 100%. why not?
a little more time than two months to prepare, you're going to get it. if he goes first, we're going to have separate sequential trials, big advantage for everyone else. they'll sit back and watch the prosecution try the whole case against kenneth chesebro, see the witnesses, cross exam, take notes. >> if she doesn't meet that date for trial, he's acquitted under georgia law. >> the case gets thrown out if they don't try him on time. >> calendar. >> 2024, nice and free, right? looks good. november is the election we're all watching. let's look at what we have on the schedule. the new york hush money case, remember that one, that has been scheduled for trial, starting in late march, that's going to go through to april. jack smith's case, the federal case for mar-a-lago, down in florida, that one has been scheduled for late may, that's certainly going to carry through june and july. now, jack smith's other case, his january 6th case, he has asked to start in early january, if he gets that, it is going to
and what she had an opportunity to give indictments on. so i do believe that this will play out in state court, you're absolutely right. if it goes into the northern district of georgia, much more diverse jury pool. fulton county is split about 50/50 between democrats and republicans. i think democrats may have the upper hand slightly just as diverse racially diverse and if you think about the trial going on with young thug and some other rappers right now, it has been very difficult to see the jury inside fulton county. even if it does stay in fulton county, expect the jury selection process will take a very long time. >> you know, one of the elements that i guess is kind of a tertiary detail in this saga of this indictment is that we're learning about the rice street jail, and people are learning about the conditions of that jail, the sheriff now asking for $2 billion to build another
don't know. there is no specific procedure on this. i think the better argument is everyone is on their own, because the law is designed to protect federal officials, not random co-defendants who happen to be charged along with them. >> let's talk about one of the defendants who wants a very speedy trial, two months. >> this is, by the way, not a typo. october of 2023, less than two months from now. this is a -- kenneth chesebro. really important development. under georgia law, if you are a defendant and you insist on a speedy trial, speedy trial belongs to the defendant, you must be tried by the end of the next court term, which here means before november. kenneth chesebro said i want my speedy trial. fani willis said, fine, we'll see your speedy trial, we'll see you october 23rd and the judge said, okay, that's when we'll do your trial. fani willis said, in fact, i'll try all 19 of you on october 23rd, but me just say, that's not happening. >> they have a right to contest that. >> exactly. you have a right to say i want my speedy trial, but if you need
criminal defense attorney, hired a new guy. >> i don't think it's terribly unusual in a high profile case in the o.j. simpson case. they changed attorneys just before trial. >> steve: they just kept adding. >> other thing about o.j. was he was very smart. look, i cover the trial every day in los angeles. i thought i was absolutely guilty. but, he was shrewd. he invoked the speedy trial right, which is not a prosecutorial right, it's the defendant's right. and i think i watched this unfold. i think he caught chris dar done and marcia clark unprepared. and as a consequence, that extended his benefit. >> ainsley: trump won't do a speedy trial he wants these all to be. >> he wants to watch the chesebro trial if it occurs october 23rd. you can learn everything about the prosecution's case. >> brian: 9 minutes after the hour. the other story the white house wants to go away with the hunter biden story because it leads
carry at least through april, probably beyond that. now, trump's team said we want a trial in 2026, that's on the other side of the studio. >> don't have a 2026 calendar here for us? >> we don't have a 2026 page just yet. the judge is going to hear that on monday. there is going to be a hearing where she'll consider that. and finally to make it extra complicated, fani willis, if she doesn't manage to move everyone up to the speedy trial date, she wants to start in early march, which is going to take, given how slow things move in georgia, all the way through here. you can't have the same person on trial three times, two times at once. >> because a criminal defendant has to be in the courtroom. >> right. you physically have to be there if you're the criminal defendant. donald trump had the e. jean carroll trial, similar case, but you have to be there. important to note, all of these are fluid. trial dates can and do move. the new york case, for example, the d.a. has said publicly he would be willing to consider moving. so, something's got to give here, this traffic jam just became gridlock. >> it did.