Former United States president, Donald Trump intends to turn himself in and be processed at the Fulton County jail on Thursday, after agreeing to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions earlier on Monday according to CNN
“I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be arrested,” he wrote on Truth Social.
In the massive Georgia racketeering case, a number of co-defendants have also consented to the conditions of their bond agreements with the district attorney’s office.
Prior to the disclosure of the bail agreement’s specifics, the district attorney’s office held a meeting with attorneys Jennifer Little, Drew Findling, and Marissa Goldberg representing Trump on Monday. Within the state are Little, Findling, and Goldberg headquartered. Other Trump attorneys, such as Todd Blanche, who has taken over as the president of the defence team for Trump during his several criminal indictments, have been working behind the scenes on the bond and Trump’s impending arrest.
The terms of release specified in Trump’s bail order are more stringent than those in the other orders that were granted earlier on Monday.
The former president is expressly prohibited by the order from using social media to disparage his 18 co-defendants in the case, any witnesses, or the 30 unindicted co-conspirators, in contrast to several of his co-defendants.
“The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” the order signed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee states.
“ The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media,” the order reads.
For the first time, a monetary bond and a ban on using social media to intimidate others are part of Trump’s release terms in the Fulton County election subversion case.
This year, the former president is the target of four criminal cases. In the past, Trump’s release from custody following an arrest and while awaiting trial has generally come with standard terms.
Trump was freed on his own recognisance in the Mar-a-Lago documents case that special counsel Jack Smith filed against him in Florida, despite some opposition from his legal team on the limitations placed on his ability to speak with witnesses in that case.
In Smith’s Washington, DC, election subversion case, Trump was also freed on strict guidelines. One of the requirements is that you can only speak with people who are known to be witnesses in the case by means of an attorney. Similarly, Trump was instructed in the New York hush money case to speak with no one important about the matter other than through one of his attorneys.
Bond agreements made with a number of defendants
Monday saw the approval of bond orders for a number of additional defendants in addition to Trump. According to court documents, defendant Scott Hall, a bail bondsman, and conservative lawyer John Eastman worked out a $100,000 bond bargain with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Hall had a bond established at $10,000
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Ray Smith’s bond was set at $50,000, and Kenneth Chesebro’s was set at $100,000.
Similar terms for release are included in the bail orders, such as the need that defendants report to pre-trial supervision via phone every thirty days. They are also prohibited from discussing the matter with any witnesses or the other 18 co-defendants.
Following last week’s broad indictment alleging Trump’s attempts to rig the 2020 election, all 19 defendants in the case—including Trump—are anticipated to turn themselves in this week before a Friday deadline set by Willis.
According to a new document filed on Monday, Eastman intends to give himself in to Fulton County authorities on Wednesday. This is the first official confirmation, coming from sources other than Trump, of a date on which one of his eighteen co-defendants would turn themselves in for processing and arrest.
The State Bar of California has been pursuing disciplinary actions against the conservative lawyer, which might result in the loss of his state licence to practise law. A judge of the State Bar Court of California said on Monday night that Eastman will not appear before her on Tuesday and Wednesday due to his impending surrender, despite the fact that hearings were scheduled for many days this week.
“Based on the recent email exchanges between and with the parties, the court is willing to make certain changes in this week’s trial schedule in order to accommodate Dr. Eastman’s surrender in Fulton County, Georgia, which the court understands will take place on Wednesday, August 23rd,” Judge Yvette Roland wrote in a court order.
When police make an arrest in Fulton County, the suspect is usually taken into custody and required to appear before a magistrate judge within 72 hours. It is unlikely that the defendants in this racketeering case will be able to prove that. They most likely won’t make their initial court appearance because they have already been indicted and are anticipated to negotiate the terms of release and bond before turning themselves in at the jail, attorneys told CNN.
Read also: Trump in court to face charges for attempting to overturn election defeat
The Fulton County court facility continues to have a high level of law enforcement presence. The two blocks around the court and the government centre, where the 19 defendants are scheduled to discuss the terms of release and bond with district attorney’s office, are lined with dozens of parked law enforcement cars.
The US Marshals Service, the organisation in charge of courthouse security, as well as Atlanta police, have also been spotted patrolling the area and setting up outside of public entrances. However, Fulton County sheriff’s office law enforcement officers have been leading the charge when it comes to security outside the buildings.
A press release sent by the sheriff’s office on Monday stated that the barriers surrounding the Fulton County courthouse will stay in place through Saturday. The defendants have until Friday at 12 p.m. ET to surrender themselves.
