Trump RICO judge to weigh Fulton County district attorney’s bid for protective order after videos leak
Kaelan Deese
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The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump‘s Fulton County racketeering case scheduled a hearing for Wednesday afternoon to consider prosecutors’ bid for a protective order after previously undisclosed interviews with co-defendants leaked to the media.
District Attorney Fani Willis, who is accusing Trump and 14 allies of illegally conspiring to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election, asked Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Tuesday to implement an “emergency” protective order over discovery materials. McAfee scheduled the hearing for 1:30 p.m. ET the next day and said it would be streamed on his YouTube page.
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Protective orders are typically put in place to protect parties in certain cases from harassment or violence. In this case, Willis wants one to bar disclosure of confidential video recordings of the former co-defendants and has asserted a leaker could face legal ramifications for violating the order.
The leaked interviews released Monday featured testimony from four of Trump’s co-defendants who took plea deals, offering previously undisclosed details about efforts to unwind Trump’s electoral defeat. The footage, known as a proffer video, was recorded after each of the defendants accepted their plea deals, which require them to offer true and accurate information to prosecutors.
In part of the footage obtained by ABC News, former Trump attorney and co-defendant Jenna Ellis told prosecutors that Trump’s deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino told her “the boss” wouldn’t leave the White House after losing the 2020 election.
“He said, ‘The boss is not going to leave under any circumstances. We are just going to stay in power,’” Ellis said, suggesting “the boss” referred to Trump. “And I said to him, ‘Well, it doesn’t quite work that way, you realize.’ And he said, ‘We don’t care.’”
Willis requested a protective order on discovery materials in September, though the judge has not acted on that request since then.
“These confidential video recordings were not released by the State to any party other than the defendants charged in the indictment, pursuant to the discovery process as required by law,” the prosecutors’ filing added.
Prosecutors also pointed to an email exchange with a lawyer for Black Voices for Trump Director Harrison Floyd, who said the videos were sent from their team before sending another email saying his message was a “typo.” Prosecutors had been copied on the email exchange.
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Willis said the leaking of the videos was “clearly intended to intimidate witnesses in this case, subjecting them to harassment and threats prior to trial.” To block any further leaks, Willis says the protective order is necessary.
Trump was charged with 13 counts in August, including violating Georgia’s racketeering law in relation to an alleged criminal conspiracy to overturn the election. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.