Donald Trump is Adopting 'Less Wealthy' Co-Defendants’ Legal Strategy in Georgia Case

Former president Donald Trump seems to be depending on the legal strategy of his 'less wealthy' co-defendants in the Georgia election racketeering case, essentially 'cribbing' his defense from them, The Messenger reported on September 19.

At least nine of Trump's recent defense requests to dismiss the indictment from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis were extremely short and simply adopted the arguments of other co-defendants who are not as wealthy or privileged as him. "Trump is 'letting them do the heavy lifting,' said Georgia State University law professor Caren Morrison, who has gone to many Trump-related court hearings in recent times. "Just basically let your co-defendant do the work and spend the money and then just be like: Okay. I'll just add my name to that, please," she shared.

Trump's tactic has already yielded some success as it persuaded him to postpone his trial after two of his co-defendants, attorneys Sidney Powell and Ken Chesebro, successfully moved to divorce their cases from his, necessitating that he and at least some of the others stand trial at a later date, Raw Story reported. “This is more of an information gathering phase than anything else,” said Morrison. 

Trump is allegedly closely following the unsuccessful attempts by his former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and close buddy in the DOJ, Jeffrey Clark, to get their charges transferred to federal court. It is yet unknown if or when Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will further split the case against the remaining 17 co-defendants, which might cause more delay. According to legal experts, Trump seeing the Fulton County hearings unfold over the course of the next four or six months would work in his favor by giving him an early preview of the evidence and tactics used by DA Fani Willis. “It's always helpful if there’s a trial of your co-defendants first because you get a preview of the prosecution's case,” Morrison said.

Willis is charging Trump and his associates under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, which is much stronger in Georgia than it is in most other states or the federal level; numerous criminal conspiracies that are not traditionally considered organized crime can be charged under this law.

To yet, Trump's defense papers have repeated the other legal defense team's criticisms of Willis' use of the state's RICO law, her premise of criminal responsibility in the 'fraudulent' electors plan, and the First Amendment defense to her case. However, experts found scant indication of collaboration among defense teams in this frenzy of papers, showing no 'grand strategy.'

“I see no overall strategy so far,” said Noah Pines, a Georgia defense attorney and former prosecutor. “I've had cases with other lawyers where we've had those conversations and have done things, towards a common goal. I just don't see that so far, in anything I've read.”