Judge severs Trump's Georgia case, and 16 others, from trial starting in October

The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case has severed the case, ordering that 17 defendants -- including Donald Trump -- will not be tried alongside speedy trial defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell on Oct. 23.

The ruling comes as Judge Scott McAfee is preparing to hear arguments this morning from Chesebro and Powell about three defense motions in the case.

It's also possible that the judge could hear additional arguments over whether or not the other defendants – including Trump – will face trial on Oct. 23 or be severed from from the others and given a later trial date.

Earlier this week in a court filing, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis reiterated her desire for all 19 defendants in the case to stand trial together, arguing that multiple trials would create an "enormous strain" on the court.

Willis' team estimated that the trial would include 150 witnesses and run at least four months, with McAfee, during the hearing last week, expressing concern that the trial might take twice as long.

Trump and 18 others have pleaded not guilty to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.

The former president says his actions were not illegal and that the investigation is politically motivated.

Chesebro, inn the DA's indictment, is accused of drafting a strategy to use so-called "alternate electors" to prevent Joe Biden from receiving 270 electoral votes, -- but that that action was justified since Chesebro was "fulfilling his duty to his client as an attorney."

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