Former President Donald Trump to Surrender to Authorities in Georgia Election Interference Case
(CNN) – Former President Donald Trump has announced his intention to turn himself in and face arraignment at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia on Thursday in connection with the criminal case of election interference, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The date of the surrender was reportedly set during negotiations on Monday with the office of District Attorney Fani Willis. Trump’s legal team agreed to a bail amount of US$200,000 after meeting with the Prosecutor’s Office, as stated in court documents reviewed by CNN.
However, despite the upcoming legal proceedings, Trump has made it clear that he has no plans to attend the first debate of the Republican primary scheduled for Wednesday night.
As part of the bail agreement, Trump is prohibited from using social media to attack any of the 18 other defendants in the case, as well as witnesses and the 30 unindicted accomplices. The order, signed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, explicitly states that Trump must not take any action to intimidate or obstruct the administration of justice, including social media postings. He is also prohibited from directly or indirectly communicating about the case with any of the other defendants or witnesses, except through his attorneys.
Other defendants in the Georgia racketeering case have also reached bail agreements with prosecutors, according to multiple sources.
Trump’s legal team, including attorneys Todd Blanche, Jennifer Little, and Drew Findling, met with the prosecutor’s office beforehand to discuss the details of the deal. Blanche, who has taken over as Trump’s lead defense attorney in his multiple criminal indictments, is based outside of the state, while Little and Findling are Georgia-based.
In a separate development, court documents filed on Monday reveal that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has reached a bail agreement with conservative attorney John Eastman, with a bail order set at $100,000. Defense attorney Scott Hall, who is facing multiple charges, including racketeering, also reached an agreement with Willis. Hall’s bail was set at $10,000, and he must report to pretrial supervision every 30 days, with the option of doing so over the phone. Like Trump, Hall is also prohibited from communicating with the other defendants in the case.
As per usual procedures in Fulton County, individuals who are arrested are typically booked into jail and must appear before a coroner within 72 hours. However, in this case, the indicted individuals are expected to negotiate their release and bail terms before voluntarily turning themselves in. Therefore, an initial court appearance may not be necessary, according to lawyers familiar with the situation.
Security has been significantly increased at the Fulton County Court Complex, with dozens of police vehicles parked within a two-block radius around the courthouse and the government center where the negotiations between the 19 defendants and the district attorney’s office are set to take place. Deputies from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office are leading the security measures, while other agencies such as the US Marshals Service and Atlanta Police are also present.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office announced that the barricades around the courthouse will remain in place until Saturday, indicating a heightened security presence during this period. The deadline for the defendants to turn themselves in is set for Friday at 12 pm Miami time.
CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.