Former president Donald Trump is seeking District Attorney Fani Willis‘ help to defend himself in the Fulton County election interference case.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has been indicted in four separate cases: two brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith at a federal level, one by the Manhattan district attorney, and another from prosecutors in Georgia.
In August, Smith charged Trump with four felony counts for his alleged illegal efforts to overturn President Joe Biden‘s 2020 victory in Georgia and other swing states. That case is set for trial in March 2024.
In Georgia, Willis charged Trump and 18 other defendants with participating in an alleged criminal enterprise to overturn Biden’s victory. Four defendants already have pleaded guilty. Trump has denied wrongdoing in all cases.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, attorney Steve Sadow, who is representing Trump in the Georgia case, asked Willis in a motion on Monday to contact Smith to see if he would share discovery letters and lists of evidence that she could then disclose to his attorneys in the Georgia case.
“President Trump is seeking fair and reasonable means to protect his right to due process of law under the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions,” Sadow said in a statement to the Journal-Constitution.
Newsweek has reached out to Sadow via email for comment.
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The request comes as Sadow said he wants access to lists of evidence disclosed to Trump attorneys in the separate federal election interference case in Washington.
“We are confident that securing access to relevant discovery contained in the files of the special counsel’s office in D.C. will further support President Trump’s defense and make clear his innocence in the Fulton County case,” Sadow said.
Sadow clarified in a three-page filing sent to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that “Trump is not currently seeking access to the actual D.C. discovery material,” rather, he is seeking “a practicable way to determine if any discovery material disclosed in the D.C. case is arguably relevant to our case.”
This comes after Trump’s defense effort in Fulton County case hit a snag last week when Willis requested a new protective order.
On November 14, Willis requested that a judge issue a new protective order over materials related to her office’s investigation into Trump and his associates. The move came in the wake of various video interviews, including some featuring key figures like Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, being leaked to the public.
If granted, the order would make it so Willis’ office would not have to produce copies of such video evidence, and would greatly limit the scope of the Trump defense team’s ability to view them.
Although Willis and Smith have taken different approaches to their cases, there is substantial overlap, with Smith arguing in his 45-page indictment against the former president that the former president repeatedly attempted to remain in power, despite losing to Biden in 2020, including by inciting the occupation of the Capitol building by Trump supporters while Congress was officially certifying Biden’s victory.
Uncommon Knowledge
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