Donald Trump probably will not learn his fate in the Georgia RICO case until after the 2024 Election. On Nov. 14, Fani Willis shared her thoughts on a timetable for the highly-publicized trial.
“I believe in that case there will be a trial. I believe the trial will take many months. And I don’t expect that we will conclude until the winter or the very early part of 2025,” Willis said in an interview at the Global Women’s Summit in Washington, D.C.
If Willis’ forecast is true, the conclusion of the trial will take place during the final months before voters will elect the country’s next president. The trial could still be ongoing after Election Day. According to multiple national polls, Trump is neck-and-neck with the current President Joe Biden.
Trump’s RICO trial will likely be televised and streamed online and could impact the decision of voters. He will also face a federal case for election interference that could take place around the same time.
However, Willis says that she’s not concerned with the election and will only focus on the law.
“I don’t, when making decisions about cases to bring, consider any election cycle or an election season,” Willis said. “That does not go into the calculus. What goes into the calculus is: This is the law. These are the facts. And the facts show you violated the law. Then charges are brought.”
Willis has already secured four guilty pleas in the case.
Trump attorney Jenna Ellis plead guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings. Stating that Ellis “knowingly, willingly, and unlawfully” made false statements about election fraud in Georgia. Ellis was sentenced to five years probation, 100 hours of community service, must pay $5,000 restitution and write an apology letter to the state of Georgia. She will also have to testify if Willis calls her to the stand during trial.
Ellis is the fourth defendant to plead guilty.
Former Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty to a felony of filing false documents. Chesebro’s plan was to file the false documents in order to help Trump’s campaign put forth unauthorized slates of GOP electors in Georgia and six other states.
The RICO case centers around the 2020 election probe when Trump asked former Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during a phone call to help him secure over 11,000 votes, the amount in which he trailed Joe Biden in Georgia.
During a recorded call that took place on Jan. 2, 2021, Trump told Raffensperger, “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”
