Attorney Sidney Powell on Friday filed a speedy trial demand in the Fulton County elections interference case that has also ensnared former President Donald Trump and ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Powell becomes the second defendant to file for a speedy trial in the sprawling racketeering case, which culminated in a 19-person, 41-count indictment last week.
Attorney and co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro filed a similar request on Wednesday. Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee subsequently set an Oct. 23 trial date. It’s likely that Powell’s motion will now add her to those proceedings in late October.
Under Georgia law, a speedy trial demand means a case has to be tried by the end of two terms of court. In Fulton, court terms are two months long and the current term began in July and will end on Aug. 31.
An attorney briefly affiliated with the Trump campaign, Powell spread falsehoods and conspiracy theories about voter fraud in swing states like Georgia after the 2020 elections and was involved in conversations to keep Trump in office. The campaign eventually distanced itself from her.
Powell was indicted on charges of violating the state’s anti-racketeering act, conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, conspiracy to commit computer trespass, conspiracy to commit computer theft and two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud.
Many of the chargesrelate to her hiring of the Atlanta firm SullivanStrickler to obtain breached election data from Coffee County in South Georgia. She is also accused of tasking people to identify Georgia residents who could serve as plaintiffs in suits contesting the state’s election results.
Powell surrendered at the Fulton County jail on Wednesday afternoon after being granted a $100,000 bond.
A spokesman for the Fulton DA’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There is still a question of whether proceedings will remain in Fulton Superior Court — or whether efforts from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and, separately, four other defendants, will move all or part of the case to federal court.
Staff writers Bill Rankin and Jozsef Papp contributed to this story.
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