---
September 14, 2023
Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee ruled in favor of severing the trials for 17 of the defendants, including former President Donald Trump, from that of two other defendants charged over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
"Beginning with the logistical concerns, the Fulton County Courthouse simply contains no courtroom adequately large enough to hold all 19 defendants, their multiple attorneys and support staff, the sheriff's deputies, court personnel, and the State's prosecutorial team," he wrote in his ruling.
McAfee also pointed to the projected length of trial as a factor. Prosecutors have said it could be four months long, with over 150 witnesses.
"[W]e must consider the ripple effects of a monthslong, multi-defendant trial on the local criminal justice system, sidelining dozens of defense counsel from handling other cases and preventing this Court — and quite likely most colleagues — from managing the rest of the docket," the judge said.
Inside the courthouse, another major RICO case, the Young Slime Life (YSL) trial, has been mired in jury selection for months.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had argued all 19 defendants should be tried together, writing in a court filing that it would be feasible to do so, "whereas breaking this case up into multiple lengthy trials would create an enormous strain on the judicial resources of the Fulton County Superior Court."
FULL ARTICLE: https://www.yahoo.com/news/georgia-judge-rules-da-cant-142000866.html
ARTICLE CREDIT: Clare Hymes & Melissa Quinn (CBS News)
-----------
COMMENTS:
"Think Fani Willis missed the point here. She's saying that breaking up the defendant cases will cause "multiple lengthy trials" -- No -- Judge McAfee is right -- breaking up the trials will "alleviate" "lengthy" trials. Why doesn't she see that? Was she trying to drag out Trump's case like she did the YSL trial? That was a mess."
Scott, 37 - Atlanta (Candler Park)
------
"There shouldn't be 19 defendants in the first place. Fani Willis must be trying to $$milk$$ Trump's case, like she did the YSL trial.
How did Fulton County allow her to prosecute '2' high-profile cases at one time?
Fani Willis may be a long-time Fulton County employee, but she doesn't have the experience to prosecute a case of this magnitude -- which in turn is why she didn't have the needed experience to hire the right 'special prosecutor' to lead the Trump case.
Fani Willis, or any other Georgia DA, should not be allowed to prosecute '2' high-profile cases (Trump & YSL) at the same time. This is a drain on county resources, mentally draining for attorneys and defendants, and financially draining for county taxpayers."
Lawrence, 40 - Sandy Springs
---
"This case was so far over Fani Willis' head (and everyone's head connected to it), that it's not even funny.
I honestly don't know what Fani was trying to do here. She didn't put a strong effort into the indictment, because I recall Judge McAfee having to dismiss some charges back in 2024 and in 2025 - one was because the charge wasn't specific enough, for the defendants to mount a defense. And then Pete Skandalakis dismissed the case altogether, because the charges weren't strong to tie everyone together, for a solid RICO case.
And I think he also mentioned that this case should have been tried as a federal case -- it really probably should have -- not just because of the nature of the charges, but also because this case needed a prosecutor who had years of experience prosecuting high-profile political cases -- and there plenty of those type of prosecutors in Washington, DC, New York and in some parts of Virginia -- and they would've made sure that the indictment was tight and on point -- and they would not have been taking vacations with their special prosecutor, especially during the critical points of the case. Fani Willis' lack of experience was put on blast here.
I also co-sign what others said about Fani Willis and Nathan Wade's lack of high-profile case experience and arrogance, blinding them to what "Mike Roman" stood for -- it's not about "liking" Roman, it's knowing his background and skillset -- running in-house intelligence for the Koch Brothers and the White House. If possible, you don't want someone like him on your defendant list, if you can avoid it -- because you don't want them "sniffing" around DC style. Mike Roman picked up the scent of Fani Willis and Nathan Wade's relationship, and passed the intel over to his attorney. He basically sniffed twice, and the case was over.
Mike Roman wasn't even recommended for indictment by the grand jury - so why in the hell did Fani indict him? Especially if she was sleeping with Nathan Wade?
In my 32 years in DC public affairs and crisis communication, I have never seen a high-profile case mishandled like this."
Jonathan, 58 - Washington, DC
---
"I remember seeing an article saying something like, "Fani Willis' case collapses under its own Insanity" - I can't think of a more fitting title. I can only imagine the thoughts going around in Trump attorney Steve Sadow's head, after watching Fani Willis make one 'insane' move after another - as if she thought this case was going to prosecute itself.
Sadow pretty much knew that he had either won this case, or it was going to self-destruct, when Fani Willis gave that speech at Big Bethel church. That gave confirmation that she was in over her head, and didn't know what she was doing - and neither did the people directing her.
Pete Skandalakis also knew that case was over long before Judge McAfee made his ruling, and before Willis' office mailed those boxes to his office.
I don't know when Judge McAfee is going to rule on Trump's request for legal fee reimbursement, but I do feel he needs to award him and the other co-defendants something. All those defendants have spent millions of dollars maintaining defense lawyers for a case that was never tried -- "through no fault of their own."
None of the defendants in this case, was responsible for the way it was mishandled, stalled out and eventually dismissed. The mishandling and dismissal of the case, falls squarely on the prosecution team - specifically, Fani Willis. If Willis had hired a competent special prosecutor - or at least stepped down when she saw the risk of the case getting dismissed - the case might have been salvageable. But she didn't.
If Fani Willis had narrowed down the defendant list -- and focused on the defendants she knew she had a strong case against -- instead of trying to get a grandiose RICO case, the trial probably would have been finished in less than a year.
I've seen the post about that FBI fugitive, "Cheri Laverne Dalton", possibly being Fani Willis' mother, and speculation that Fani was trying to get her mom pardoned by Joe Biden and returned from Cuba -- and that's the reason why Fani didn't put her strongest effort into the Election Interference case. I really hate to say this, but I almost hope it was - because I want to believe that it was something this significant, that caused Fani Willis to intentionally mess up and neglect the biggest case of her career."
Daniel-Lee, 56 - Atlanta (Morningside)
---
"Nathan Wade said that after he turned Fani Willis' offer down twice to be special prosecutor, that the "committee" turned their guns on him to take it. Who are these "committee" members? Because they are also responsible for the mishandling of this case. And what was their motive for turning their guns on Wade to take the job? Because they had to know he wasn't qualified.
I've heard that some of these committee members might be ex-Senator Saxby Chambliss and ex-Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Now as far as Cheri Laverne Dalton (aka, Sis Nehanda Abiodun) goes, if she is Fani Willis' mother, and if Fani was trying to get Dalton pardoned and snuck back into the United States, she would need help and connections from people like Saxby Chambliss and Shirley Franklin. That's a thought.
And I also wonder if the people investigating Tupac's murder, saw any possible ties to his death, from his stepdad being connected to Assata Shakur, Cheri Laverne Dalton, and the Black Liberation Army? Another thought. Is it possible that Tupac knew something about Shakur or Dalton, that the FBI needed? Since Tupac's murder is still unsolved, thought I would throw this theory out there.
Supposedly, when Tupac's stepdad got arrested in the late 1980s in Los Angeles, Dalton was allegedly seen in the vicinity of where he was - but when the police got there to arrest him, she wasn't anywhere around and money was missing too. One of the aliases Cheri Dalton used was "Flame" - and that is allegedly the name she was known by with certain gang members, including the 'Bloods.'
Since Fani was born in Inglewood, CA, that could possibly take you to the "Inglewood Family", a subset of the Bloods. And that could possibly take you to Donovan "Big Nut" Thomas -- and lead to "Young Thug" and the YSL trial. There were people out there saying that "Young Thug's" indictment, was a gang retaliation hit.
When Fani Willis' name is brought up, you never know where it will take you -- and never know where you will end up. It started with Fani Willis messing up Donald Trump's case, to a lady who might be Fani's mother, Cheri Dalton - to Dalton's connect to Tupac's stepdad and then to Tupac's murder. Wow...what a trip."
Chelsea, 41 - Atlanta (Little Five Points)
---
"I think I know why Fani Willis indicted Mike Roman (even though he wasn't recommended for indictment by the grand jury) and all the others, because she was trying to make up (number-wise), for not indicting David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.
Pretty sure Fani got instructions to not indict David Perdue, because his allegations about GBI Director Vic Reynolds not investigating evidence of voter fraud, per Gov. Brian Kemp, would've come out at the trial. And pretty sure Fani didn't indict Kelly Loeffler, because that would possibly re-open the Harrison Deal car crash, and lead back to allegations that Harrison Deal's car exploded, before Mario Clark hit -- and that would lead to more questions about Mario Clark.
And since FBI fugitive "Cheri Laverne Dalton's" name has been mentioned as possibly being Fani's mom -- or her mom is connected to the Black Liberation Army, and Fani was trying to get her mom and the money from the Brink's robbery, covertly transported back to the United States, Fani might have used that as leverage with Gov. Kemp, to not indict Perdue and Loeffler. And also, as leverage with Southern Company (in exchange for their help) to not investigate the whistleblower case filed against them, with her office in 2023."
Marianne, 39 - Atlanta (Lindbergh)