Georgia prosecutor asks for Aug. 5 trial for Donald Trump on election racketeering charges

The Georgia prosecutor in Donald Trump's election racketeering case asked Friday for the trial to start Aug. 5, which could overlap with the presidential election in November.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argued that the date balances potential delays from Trump's other trials against the need for a speedy trial. She said the final date for plea hearings would be June 21.

But Trump has strongly objected to holding a trial before the election. He has asked to postpone all four pending criminal cases until after the election Nov. 5, 2024. The former president calls the Georgia case and criminal cases pending against him a political persecution by Democrats aimed at preventing him from returning to the White House.

Steve Sadow, Trump's lead attorney in Georgia, said he opposes the date motion and wants the judge to schedule a hearing on the issue.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee must work out scheduling issues for the complex case. Prosecutors have estimated the trial could feature 150 witnesses and last four months.

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Trump is one of 19 co-defendants in the Georgia case charged with racketeering in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Four of the co-defendants have pleaded guilty, but Trump and the rest have pleaded not guilty.

Other cases pending against Trump include:

• Federal charges of election conspiracy in Washington, D.C., scheduled for trial March 4
• Federal charges in Florida of retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House scheduled for trial May 20.
• New York charges of falsifying business records to pay hush money to women before the 2016 election. The trial was tentatively scheduled for March 25, but is expected to be delayed because of the federal case.