Fani Willis, the District Attorney of Fulton County who is currently involved in the prosecution of former President Donald Trump and other others, received unfortunate news on Tuesday from a former federal prosecutor.
According to Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor, during her appearance on CNN on Tuesday, it is unlikely that Willis will get her desired outcome following the indictment. The District Attorney has established a lofty objective of commencing trial proceedings against the former president and 18 co-defendants within a span of six months.
Addressing the former prosecutor, CNN anchor Sara Sidner said, “Back in 2022 just last year, she brought a case against a rapper and several others. What does that tell you about the timing of this case and how quickly or slowly it might be able to come to trial?”
“Fani Willis has a lot of experience with RICO throughout her prosecutorial career, so she knows what she’s doing in this regard. But going back to the Young Thug case, it’s still in jury selection. I mean months and months just in jury selection,” she said.
“Picking a jury for the former president and these other high-ranking former officials and lawyers and so on is going to be even more complicated than picking a jury for the Young Thung RICO case so to me that just underscores again that six months is an unrealistic goal to try this thing,” she said.
Before the indictment, Judge Robert McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court addressed significant logistical matters during a typical Monday morning session at the local courthouse, where he presided over the grand jury hearings.
According to McBurney, it is customary for a grand jury to present an indictment in the afternoon, during which filming and photography are permitted. This statement was made to a group of media and members of the public who were present in his courtroom before to the commencement of motions in a murder case related to a nightclub shooting.
As was previously reported, the Georgia judge over the Trump indictment has decided that “at least part” of the trial “may be televised.”
This court appearance for Trump may be unlike any others, due to laws in Georgia regarding cameras in the courtroom. Under Georgia law, judges can weigh several factors when deciding whether to allow cameras, including the consent of the parties involved, concerns over the safety of those participating in proceedings, and the impact on due process.
Trump was indicted along with 18 others, including Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and several of Trump’s advisors on charges relating to the 2020 election.
The charges are being called a “racketeering case” with actions by the Trump campaign as they traveled to Georgia during the voting to expose ballot irregularities alleged to have been somehow attempting to “reverse the results” of the election in a “criminal enterprise,” The NY Times claims.
Unlike federal or Manhattan courts, where the former president appeared for his three previous arraignments, Georgia law requires that cameras be allowed into judicial proceedings with a judge’s approval. The presiding judge has the final say on camera access. Media organizations are required to file a formal request, known as Rule 22, for the judge’s consideration. The filing is often considered more of a formality, as the requests are almost always granted.
So, in Georgia, if Trump is brought into a Georgia courtroom the proceedings are likely to be broadcast live on TV, and potentially that the proceedings in entirety may be broadcast, which would be a first.
