Related Video: Moment Fani Willis slams down prosecution’s evidence in heated testimony
There were two key hearings in Donald Trump’s criminal cases on Friday, as Judge Aileen Cannon considered a trial date for the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and closing arguments were heard concerning the disqualification of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The former president attended the Florida hearing at which Judge Cannon called the prosecution’s request for the trial to begin in July ‘unrealistic’ given the potential for preparation to overlap with the New York hush-money trial scheduled for six weeks from 25 March. She is yet to set a trial date.
It was clarified by special counsel Jack Smith’s team that, as charges have already been filed, they comply with Justice Department policy on investigative actions not coming 60 days before an election.
In Georgia, Judge Scott McAfee did not rule on Ms Willis’s continued involvement in the sprawling election interference case after each side presented their case, promising to post a decision on the docket in the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, the former president’s plea for “presidential immunity” in his federal election interference case will now be heard by the conservative-leaning Supreme Court with oral arguments scheduled to take place on 22 April.
Watch: Defence questions of Fani Willis meant to ‘embarrass and harass’ her
Oliver O’Connell1 March 2024 22:15
Haley calls for Trump’s legal woes to be ‘dealt’ with before November
Nikki Haley, the last Republican rival facing Donald Trump in the 2024 primaries, has called for all of his legal battles to be “dealt with” before the November election.
The former South Carolina governor is yet to win a state primary or caucus. On Thursday, days after losing big in Michigan, she appeared on NBC News’ Meet the Press and said: “I think all of the cases should be dealt with before November.”
“We need to know what’s going to happen before it, before the presidency happens, because after that, should he become president, I don’t think any of it’s going to get heard,” she added.
Oliver O’Connell1 March 2024 22:00
Watch: Judge McAfee says he will post ruling in next two week on Fani Willis disqualification
Oliver O’Connell1 March 2024 21:38
Judge Scott McAfee says there are several legal issues to consider and he will rule in the next two weeks.
There will be no decision today on Ms Willis and Mr Wade’s disqualification from the case.
Judge McAfee will post his decision on the court docket.
Oliver O’Connell1 March 2024 21:18
Mr Abbate for the DA’s office concludes his closing argument and Mr Sadow rises to give a brief rebuttal for the defendants who want Ms Willis disqualified.
Oliver O’Connell1 March 2024 21:12
Mr Abbate argues that what the evidence from these hearings does show is “there was a true cost” to being a district attorney.
On top of the mortgage for a house that she was forced to leave, she had to pay for a “safe house” apartment. She also endured racist and sexist attacks, threats to her safety, isolation from family and friends, and “cruel statements and falsehoods” leaked to the media, including attacks about her daughter, in an attempt to undermine her.
He’s now going over the special grand jury process for indicting Trump and his co-defendants, stressing that everything went by the book.
The defence’s argument that Willis lived “the lifestyles of the rich and famous is a joke, an absolute joke,” Abbate says.
Alex Woodward1 March 2024 21:09
Fani Willis hearing: DA’s office addresses cell phone records
The state is now trying to show that cell records the defence introduced don’t show Nathan Wade connecting with Fani Willis at all.
The defence said their relationship began in October 2019, but his phone never pinged towers in South Fulton – where she lived at the time, until March 2021.
His phone pinged cell towers near Hapeville from January 2021 to March 2021, but the DA wasn’t living there then. His phone pinged towers from April 2021 to November 2021, but Wade didn’t deny visiting the condo there at the time. He said he never laid his head there, and the records don’t prove he did, Abbate argues.
Alex Woodward1 March 2024 21:08
Judge Cannon hints she’ll reject Jack Smith’s ‘unrealistic’ classified documents trial date
In a hearing on Friday, District Court Judge Aileen Cannon heard from prosecutors in Mr Smith’s office as well as Mr Trump’s attorneys about a proposed start date for the trial against the former president accusing him of willfully retaining classified documents after he left the White House.
But Ms Cannon said that Mr Smith’s suggested date was “unrealistic”.
Oliver O’Connell1 March 2024 21:00
Watch: Trump co-defendants trying to disqualify Willis over appearance of impropriety not proof
Oliver O’Connell1 March 2024 20:48
District Attorney Fani Willis’s team so far has basically been calling on Judge Scott McAfee to dismiss the motions to disqualify, pointing to relevant case law, and arguing that the defence’s arguments are “misleading, inapplicable, or support the state’s position”.
The judge is needling the prosecution a bit about whether money changing hands constitutes a financial benefit, regardless of whether it was paid back.
The state is arguing that most of the defence’s line of questioning and evidence was meant only to “embarrass and harass” Ms Willis and “impugn her character”.
Alex Woodward1 March 2024 20:27
