Donald Trump’s attorneys on Friday sought to delay one of his criminal trials until after the November election and disqualify the district attorney prosecuting another case against the former president, in a split screen that underscored how all of Trump’s criminal cases can’t help but overlap.
In Florida, Trump’s attorneys told Judge Aileen Cannon his Mar-a-Lago classified documents case should wait until after the 2024 election. At roughly the same time in Georgia, attorneys for Trump and his co-defendants made their final arguments to Judge Scott McAfee in a bid to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the Georgia racketeering case over her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Neither judge made a decision on Friday. But both hearings could have a significant impact on when – or whether – Trump will face trial in each of those two cases.
Here's a look at the key takeaways from each of the proceedings:
- Judge Cannon doesn’t tip her hand on trial date in Trump’s classified docs case: In the classified documents case, Cannon didn’t tip her hand Friday on when she might set a new trial date, but she asked questions about the prospect of holding a trial close to Election Day with the former president likely on the ballot.
- Judge McAfee suggests discipline could be the solution if Fani Willis lied: In the Georgia case, McAfee suggested Friday that if it ends up that the lead Fulton County prosecutors lied on the witness stand about their romantic relationship, the remedy might be a professional disciplinary action at the state bar, instead of the much more aggressive step of removing them from the Trump case.
You can read more about the busy day in Trump's legal proceedings.