Kenneth Chesebro, architect of fake electors plot, pleads not guilty in Georgia election

CNN
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Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, the architect of the Trump campaign’s fake electors plot in 2020, pleaded not guilty Friday in the Georgia election subversion case, according to a court filing.

He also waived his right to an arraignment hearing, according to the filing.

Chesebro is facing seven criminal charges, including a violation of Georgia’s RICO act and conspiracy to commit forgery. He denies wrongdoing and his trial is scheduled to begin in late October.

Chesebro, the first Georgia defendant with a scheduled trial date, wants a judge to force Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to speed up the turnover of “discovery” evidence ahead of his October 23 criminal trial.

In a court filing Friday, Chesebro’s attorney said he already gave Willis a hard drive for the evidence. But he said prosecutors notified him that they won’t be ready to give it back, with the discovery material, until September 15.

“The State should not just be allowed to sit on its thumbs to run down the clock, as late as possible, to gain a tactical advantage in this litigation,” Chesebro’s attorney Scott Grubman said in a filing.

The filing went on to say, “The State has publicly trumpeted that it is ready to go to trial immediately. Therefore, to now say the State can’t turn over discovery strains credulity.”

Fulton County prosecutors want to try the case together, with all 19 defendants, in October and keep it in state court.

Some of the defendants have asked to break up the case and hold separate trials. Some defendants are attempting to move the case into federal court. And some defendants are pressing for speedy trials later this year, while former President Donald Trump opposes that timeframe and wants to slow down the process.