Former Trump attorney Chesebro disavows Sidney Powell in push for speedy trial

Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney charged in the 2020 Georgia election case for aiding in the fake electors plan, made clear to a state judge Friday he wants nothing to do with co-defendant Sidney Powell.

Chesebro and Powell — who both pleaded not guilty — filed separate motions for a speedy trial, which would likely allow them to proceed to trial this fall on an advanced timetable. 

Chesebro already sought to sever his case from all of his 18 co-defendants. But on Friday, he filed a new motion about Powell specifically, stressing that despite her similar demand for rapidity, the duo still should be tried separately.

“The actions of Mr. Chesebro and Ms. Powell are akin to oil and water; wholly separate and impossible to mix (into one conspiracy),” Chesebro’s attorney wrote in Friday’s court filing.

A state judge has set Chesebro’s trial to begin on Oct. 23 but has not yet set a date for Powell or the others. Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D) wants all of the co-defendants to be tried together.

Chesebro’s attorney, Scott Grubman, insisted Chesebro and Powell have never met, sent emails, called, texted or communicated on social media with each other.

“In sum, there has never been any direct contact or communication between Mr. Chesebro and Ms. Powell. Similarly, there is no correlation or overlap between the overt acts or the substantive charges associated with Mr. Chesebro and Ms. Powell,” Grubman wrote.

Earlier this week, Powell also asked to sever her case from all of the co-defendants. She similarly indicated she had no relationship with Chesebro.

“Ms. Powell can receive a fair trial only if she is tried alone. The prejudice that would inure to her from a lengthy trial with any of those she was not involved and about the vast number of events she had no knowledge of or connection with would deny her Due Process,” Powell’s attorney, Brian Rafferty, wrote to the judge Wednesday.

Prosecutors charged both Powell and Chesebro with racketeering over their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Chesebro, who faces seven charges, wrote several memos devising a strategy for how slates of pro-Trump individuals could falsely purport to be their states’ valid electors.

“Despite attempts by the State to incorrectly paint Mr. Chesebro as the alleged ‘architect of the Trump elector scheme,’ even according to the Indictment, Mr. Chesebro’s involvement consisted solely of sending 18 emails, receiving 1 email, and attending 1 in-person meeting in Wisconsin over a period of approximately 2 months. All of this occurred in his role as an attorney,” his attorney wrote Friday.

Powell, another Trump-aligned attorney, is charged in connection with a breach at an elections office in Coffee County, a rural area of Georgia south of Atlanta.