The Georgia judge overseeing the criminal case of Donald Trump and his 14 remaining codefendants has set a Friday hearing to consider several major outstanding issues in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' election-subversion case.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee's two-page notice on Tuesday tees up a number of topics for the 1 p.m. hearing in Atlanta, including a recent request from the former president's lawyers trying to get more information about a specific piece of video evidence that prosecutors may be considering for use at trial.
McAfee also has agreed to hear arguments from defense lawyers who want to drop their controversial client, Trevian Kutti, after the embattled publicist who once worked for the rapper Ye gained notoriety for her outlandish public statements.
Kutti's attorneys in mid-December asked McAfee to let them leave the case, and one of them later told The Messenger the decision had to do with their client's wayward commentary and also not paying her legal bills. McAfee's order says Kutti must appear in person on Friday.
Also on Friday's agenda: A request from Trump's longtime personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to interview four former co-defendants who have entered guilty pleas in the Georgia case.
As a condition of their plea agreements, the four former co-defendants are prohibited from communicating with current defendants about facts of the case, but must cooperate with prosecutors in pre-trial matters. Giuliani on Monday through his lawyers asked McAfee to grant permission so he can get more information from Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall, and the former Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis.
Friday's hearing is also expected to address several other leftover topics that didn't get covered the last time McAfee convened attorneys in the case during an early-December session.
Although Willis has requested that the trial begin on Aug. 5, McAfee has not yet scheduled a trial date in the case.
Monday was the deadline for defendants to file pre-trial motions in the Georgia proceedings. In addition to Giuliani, Trump also filed a series of motions seeking dismissal of the charges against him.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.