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August 21, 2023 - Trump plans to surrender Thursday in Georgia election case
By Shawna Mizelle, Maureen Chowdhury, Elise Hammond and Amir Vera, CNN
Updated 10:50 p.m. ET, August 21, 2023
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John Eastman to surrender Wednesday in Georgia
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz
Trump election attorney John Eastman plans to surrender to Fulton County authorities on Wednesday in response to his charges in Georgia related to the 2020 election, according to a new filing.
Eastman has been facing discipline proceedings in the State Bar of California, in which he could lose his license to practice law in the state. Hearings were set for multiple days this week, but a judge of the State Bar Court of California said on Monday night that Eastman would not be before her on Tuesday and Wednesday because of his forthcoming surrender in Fulton County.
"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 on Monday.
This is the first confirmation outside of Trump for a date on which one of his 18 co-defendants will turn themselves in for their arrest and processing this week, before a deadline of Friday at noon.
Eastman and others are expected to be arrested at Fulton County's jail, then released on pre-negotiated bond terms. He and others are also expected to enter not guilty pleas soon after.
Eastman reached a $100,000 bond agreement with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis earlier Monday.
Trump says he plans to turn himself in Thursday at the Fulton County jail
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Former President Donald Trump plans to turn himself in and be processed at the Fulton County jail on Thursday, two sources familiar with the plan tell CNN.
Trump confirmed the plans of his surrender on Truth Social Monday.
"I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis,” Trump wrote on the social network.
That date was set during negotiations with the district attorney’s office today over his consent bond and release conditions.
The first GOP debate is set for Wednesday night. Trump has said he doesn’t plan to attend.
Fulton County sheriff’s staff facing threats ahead of Trump’s surrender
From CNN's Nick Valencia
As the Fulton County officials await the surrender of Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants, employees with the sheriff’s office are being threatened, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.
The source says threats have been made against Fulton County Sheriff’s office employees and their homes for the role they will play in the former president’s surrender.
The sheriff’s office is responsible for the administration and operation of the Fulton County Jail, where Trump is expected to surrender later this week.
Last week, CNN reported that the FBI was looking into threats against Fulton County officials, including District Attorney Fani Willis.
Trump will put up a cash bond for the first time in the Fulton County criminal case
From CNN's Devan Cole
The Fulton County election subversion case marks the first time release conditions for Donald Trump have included a cash bond and a prohibition on intimidation through social media.
The criminal case is the fourth brought against the former president this year.
In the previous cases, the conditions for Trump’s release after arrest and pending trial have been largely routine:
- In Florida: In the Mar-a-Lago documents case brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith, Trump was released on personal recognizance, though there was some pushback from his attorneys on the restrictions that were imposed on his contact with witnesses in that case.
- In Washington, DC: Trump also was released on minimal conditions in Smith’s federal election subversion case brought in Washington, DC. Those conditions include not being allowed to communicate with anyone known to be a witness in the case unless through an attorney.
- In New York: And in the New York hush money case, Trump was similarly ordered to not communicate about the case with anyone central to it except through one of his attorneys.
Former Trump lawyer Ray Smith reaches $50,000 bond agreement in Fulton County election subversion case
From CNN's Tierney Sneed and Marshall Cohen
Ray Smith, former lawyer for Donald Trump, reached a $50,000 bond agreement with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the 2020 Georgia election subversion case, according to court documents.
Smith faces 12 state crimes, including violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath and conspiring to commit forgery.
Smith participated in a Georgia Senate hearing in December 2020 where he falsely alleged widespread fraud and voting irregularities and argued that the results “must be vacated and cannot be allowed to stand.”
In the indictment, prosecutors allege that Smith made false statements at that hearing about illegal voting by felons and dead people.
Pro-Trump lawyer Chesebro reaches $100,000 bond agreement
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
A Fulton County Superior Court judge approved a $100,000 bond package for pro-Trump lawyer Ken Chesebro, who faces seven charges in the Georgia election subversion case.
The conditions of Chesebro’s bond resemble the agreements other co-defendants reached with prosecutors.
Trump has agreed to $200,000 bond in Fulton County criminal case
From CNN's Zachary Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Devan Cole
Former President Donald Trump has agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions after his lawyers met with the Fulton County district attorney's office on Monday, according to court documents reviewed by CNN.
The release conditions outlined in Trump’s bond order are more extensive than those laid out in the other bond orders approved earlier.
Unlike some of his co-defendants, the former president is barred from using social media to target his 18 co-defendants in the case, as well as any witnesses or the 30 unindicted co-conspirators.
“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.
The order also prohibits Trump from communicating "directly or indirectly" about the case with any of his co-defendants or witnesses in the case, except through his attorneys. A similar provision has been included in bond orders for some of his co-defendants.
The order is also signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and three Trump attorneys: Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg and Jennifer Little.
Trump’s legal team arrives at Fulton County courthouse to negotiate terms of bond and release
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Zachary Cohen
Donald Trump’s legal team has arrived at the Fulton County courthouse, where they are expected to meet with the district attorney’s office and negotiate the terms of the former president’s bond and release conditions, sources tell CNN.
One of the sources indicated that Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche, Jennifer Little and Drew Findling will be doing the negotiating and likely visiting the DA’s office in Georgia today. Little and Findling are both based in the state, while Blanche has taken the helm as Trump’s primary defense attorney across his multiple criminal indictments.
Trump is expected to turn himself in at the jail later this week.
How surrenders work in the county: In a typical case in Fulton County when police make an arrest, the arrestee is booked into jail and must appear before a magistrate judge within 72 hours.
That most likely won’t be the case for the defendants in this racketeering case. Because they have already been indicted and are expected to negotiate the terms of release and bond before surrendering at the jail, they most likely won’t have an initial court appearance, attorneys told CNN.
CNN's Jason Morris, Katelyn Polantz and Holmes Lybrand contributed reporting to this post.
