Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, who is spearheading the election subversion case against former President Donald Trump in the state, says she is “ready and willing” to move up his trial date.
Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) on Tuesday that her team is open to shifting its proposed trial date of August 5, should Trump’s legal calendar change as he faces state and federal court charges.
“Oh, we would be ready and willing,” Willis said. “I always say, ‘Stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready.'”
Willis brought the Georgia election case against Trump, in which he and 18 co-defendants were handed racketeering charges, accused of attempting to overturn Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss in the state to President Joe Biden.
Four of the 18 co-defendants have pleaded guilty and agreed to plea deals. At the moment, Trump is not expected to be offered a deal in Georgia, where he faces 13 felony counts. The former president, front-runner in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has maintained his innocence regarding all four of his indictments, which include 91 felony charges.
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Newsweek reached out via email on Tuesday to representatives for Willis and Trump for comment.
The prosecutor told the AJC that the timeline for Trump’s trial in her state depends on a slew of factors, including motions from defense teams and prosecutors and deadlines for negotiated plea agreements, as well as the former president’s legal schedule for his other hearings.
Willis’ comments came after Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to take the rare step of weighing in on Trump’s presidential immunity claim before the matter was heard by a federal appeals court. The move in the federal election interference case has been seen as part of Smith’s efforts to keep the historic prosecution of a former president on track for its scheduled March 4 trial date.
Willis said the August trial date suggested by her team for Trump’s Georgia election subversion case was chosen to be “respectful of our sister jurisdictions.” However, the date, if granted, means the trial would begin a few weeks after the Republican Party selects its nominee for president and just three months before the election.
Late last month, Willis made a rare move when she appeared in the courtroom and personally handled the arguments during a pretrial hearing where she passionately called on Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to revoke the bond of defendant Harrison Floyd, accusing him of intimidating witnesses.
Willis, during Tuesday’s interview, indicated that she might make a courtroom appearance again, something typically handled by the assistant district attorneys.
“I don’t think anyone should ever be surprised if DA Willis enters a courtroom,” she said, adding that she is “a trial lawyer at my soul.”
When the AJC questioned whether she would make an appearance during Trump’s trial, she said, “I think it’s very possible.”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.