Jury selection set to begin

ATLANTA, Oct 20 (AP): Jury selection is set to begin Friday for the first defendant to go to trial in the Georgia case that accuses former President Donald Trump and others of illegally scheming to overturn the 2020 election in the state.

Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro was indicted just over two months ago along with Trump and 17 others. Two of those others - including Sidney Powell, who was supposed to go on trial with Chesebro - have already pleaded guilty to reduced charges, and no trial date has been set yet for the rest.

If Chesebro doesn't take a plea deal before the trial starts, the proceedings will provide a first extensive look at the evidence that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her team have amassed against him and the rest of the defendants.

There's little doubt that the former president will be a central figure in the proceedings, even though he's not expected to be there.

After all, the indictment alleges Chesebro and the rest of the defendants "refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump."

As the defense and prosecution weigh potential jurors, it's likely they will try to figure out as much as they can about their feelings about Trump, their political leanings and their opinions about claims that the 2020 election was marred by fraud and stolen from Trump.

Until Thursday morning, Chesebro was set to go on trial alongside Powell after each filed a demand for a speedy trial. Under Georgia law, a defendant who files a demand for a speedy trial has a right to have a trial begin within the court term when the demand is filed or in the next court term. That meant the trial had to start by Nov. 5.

Powell agreed to a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to six misdemeanor counts. As part of the deal, she must testify truthfully if she is called as a witness at any future trials related to the case. She was also sentenced to probation and ordered to pay a fine.

All the defendants are accused of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, by participating in a wide-ranging scheme to keep Trump in power despite his election loss.

Chesebro is also accused of working on the coordination and execution of a plan to have 16 Georgia Republicans sign a certificate declaring falsely that Trump won and declaring themselves the state's "duly elected and qualified" electors.