Donald Trump legal cases: What to expect this week

Judge McAfee, when denying the motions to sever Chesebro and Powell, made a point that Judge Jones' ruling on whether Meadows case would be removed to federal court was still pending, and McAfee did not want to come into conflict with that by making any ruling on whether any of the other defendants' cases would be severed or scheduled alongside Chesebro and Powell on October 23.

Judge Jones, on Friday, ruled that Meadows gets to stay in state court. His 49 page ruling was very clear on the reasons why, and it is clearly written in a way that makes anyone else's chances of being removed to federal court exactly zero. In short, all are charged with a criminal conspiracy to overturn State election results in Georgia; States are conferred by the Constitution the authority to operate elections for federal offices; any federal official inserting themselves into a State election in any way is necessarily not performing acts as a duty of federal office.

The other aspects which Judge McAfee has to consider in the context of severing and scheduling the remaining defendants:

• Judicial economy: Each trial will need to present all the evidence about all the defendants. Each trial will need to seat a separate jury. This goes in favor of having the smallest number of separate trials.
• Inconvenience or trauma to witnesses and victims: Because of the above, each witness and victim would need to testify in each case. Fewer cases - or just one - limits the impact to people who are coming forward voluntarily to testify. This goes in favor of having the smallest number of separate trials.
• Speedy trial: The citizens of the State of Georgia - on whose behalf the grand jury brings, and the State prosecutes, these charges - have a right to a speedy trial. Judge McAfee already suggested that the State's claim of "four months, plus jury selection" may be an extremely hopeful timeline. The citizens' right to a speedy trial goes in favor of having as many defendants begin their trials at the earliest reasonable date.
• Speedy trial: To date, only two defendants have filed a demand for speedy trial, and they are scheduled to start October 23. The remainder of defendants may or may not file similar demands. Based on Judge McAfee's and Judge Jones' previous rulings, I would expect that anyone else who files for a speedy trial will go with Powell and Chesebro on Oct 23. Other defendants may choose to wait, in order to prepare their own defenses, in order to see the prosecution's case, and in order to delay consequences.

None of that matters. As stated, the RICO charges require that the whole story gets told at every trial. We are all going to get to see how this story plays out, on television and YouTube, when the first defendants go to trial. And to me, fine, let the rest of the defendants wait and see. Those "non-speedy" defendants won't get to object to anything, making it easier for the defendants on trial to throw the rest of them under the bus, under oath, with impunity.

Now, IANAL (giggity), but to my view, a smart defendant at this juncture would want to join the Oct 23 trial, in order to be able to better control the narrative in court, and to have a better opportunity to point fingers at defendants not on trial.