Georgia Judge's Decision Spares Trump a Trial Next Month

It's a break for Donald Trump: The former president will not have to go on trial next month in his Georgia indictment. Instead, only two of the 19 defendants will do so—former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, reports the New York Times. Those two requested a speedy trial, and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Thursday that their trial will be separate from that of the other 17 defendants. The pair's trial is set to begin on October 23. The ruling means that District Attorney Fani Willis' original hope of trying all 19 people at once will not happen, notes the Washington Post.

The AP notes that most of the remaining 17 defendants are likely pleased that they won't be grouped into the same trial as Powell, given that she was perhaps the most vocal in the Trump camp of asserting that the election was stolen and in floating various conspiracy theories to back that up. The judge did not set a trial date for Trump and the others, and he said it's possible that he might have to order more separate trials as legal challenges unfold. Trump, for instance, may push to have his case moved from state to federal court, though Mark Meadows' attempt to do that isn't going well. (More Georgia indictment stories.)