John Eastman begs court to split Georgia trial so he doesn't face same jury as Trump

Attorney John Eastman has asked Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to split the Georgia election subversion case into separate trials so that he does not face the same jury as Donald Trump.

In a court filing, Eastman called the current trial schedule "arbitrary and capricious."

Eastman argued that Trump's Secret Service protection would slow down the hearing of the other defendants.

"The 'Final Plea date' should be established earlier in 2024 so that Defendants who do not have lifetime United States Secret Service protection and who are not running for election to an office can exercise and have their right to a jury trial completed within 2024," an attorney for Eastman wrote in the filing.

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"Establishing a 'Final Plea date' earlier in 2024 and severing the Defendants into two groups would provide more than enough time for the Court to try two trials each of eight on fewer defendants," the filing added, "absent former president Trump who at the present may be said to be the presumptive Republican nominee for the office of President of the United States. Without Defendant Trump in the courtroom the U.S. Secret Service will not be involved in providing enhanced security, and the trials will proceed faster."

Eastman and 18 others were charged for an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Eastman has also asked the judge for a speedy trial.