Donald Trump turned himself in Thursday evening for arrest and processing at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail after being indicted along with 18 others for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
After being booked, Trump made a statement to the press gathered at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. “I really believe this is a sad day for America. This should never happen,” Trump said. “If you challenge an election, you should be able to challenge an election. I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election, and I should have every right to do that.”
Unlike in the three other criminal cases in which Trump has been indicted, arrested and arraigned, the former president was obliged to pose for a mug shot at the jail, as have all of those charged with crimes stemming from the election plot. His bond had been set at $200,000, and he used Foster Bail Bonds LLC to pay it, according to reports.
“Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mug shot ready for you,” Labat told reporters earlier this month, the Associated Press reported.
Trump stands charged with 13 felony counts in Fulton County, including violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Why it matters: The Georgia case brings the number of felony counts Trump will face in a courtroom to 91. Unlike many of the federal charges, a guilty verdict of violating Georgia’s RICO Act could make him ineligible for pardon and require him to serve time in jail.
Willis requests October start for Georgia trial
Key players: Fani Willis, Judge Scott McAfee, attorney Kenneth Chesebro,
In a court filing Thursday, Willis laid out an ambitious request for the start of the case against Trump and 18 of his associates: Oct. 23, Reuters reported.
While that date is largely seen as unrealistic for all of the defendants given the sprawling size of the Georgia case, McAfee agreed Thursday that Chesebro’s trial could begin then, The Hill reported.
Lawyers for Chesebro, one of the alleged architects of the fake elector scheme, demanded speedy proceedings in a Wednesday filing. Willis cited that request in her own court filing on Thursday.
Why it matters:
The strategy for Trump’s legal team in the other criminal cases in which the former president has been indicted has been to delay the legal proceedings until after the 2024 election. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Thursday showed Trump’s GOP support would fall by 17 points if he were to be convicted of a serious crime in the coming months.
Trump shakes up legal team
Key players: Attorney Steven Sadow, attorney Drew Findling
As he prepared to turn himself in for booking in Fulton County on Thursday, Trump overhauled his legal representation in the Georgia case, replacing Findling with Atlanta attorney Sadow, CNN reported.
Sadow is perhaps best known for having defended notable musicians like Usher, Gucci Mane and Cardi B.
“The president should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him,” Sadow said in a statement.
Why it matters: Sadow has experience defending clients charged with violations of Georgia’s RICO law, as when he represented rapper Gunna in 2022.
It’s a presidential portrait that’s sure to go down in history. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia publicly released a mug shot of former president Donald Trump, inmate no. P01135809, after he was booked at the facility Thursday evening on 13 felony counts stemming from his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in that state.
Trump and 18 of his allies, who are also in the process of surrendering, were named in a 98-page indictment last week that outlines a long list of alleged crimes, including racketeering (under Georgia’s RICO laws), conspiracy to commit forgery, filing of false documents and soliciting a violation of oath by a public officer. The Georgia indictment is Trump’s fourth since leaving office in January 2021.
Why it matters:
Even though it’s also Trump’s fourth time being booked and processed on criminal charges, Thursday was the first time his mug shot was taken. It also came one day after the first 2024 Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, which he notably skipped.
Prior to the indictment, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat indicated that, if charged, Trump would be subject to the regular booking process for criminal defendants, which includes fingerprinting and posing for mug shots.
Thursday was also the first time Trump had to surrender at a jail. Following his three previous indictments, the former president was able to turn himself in at the time of his arraignments at federal courthouses in Miami and Washington, D.C., and at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
What’s next for the Georgia case:
In a court filing Thursday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis proposed a new trial date of October 23, 2023, after defendant Kenneth Chesebro asked for a speedy trial.
Willis also proposed the week of Sept. 5 for all 19 defendants to appear for an arraignment, in a court filing last week.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office previously noted in a press release that the booking process is separate from an arraignment for criminal cases in Fulton County. “In this case, some arraignments/appearances may be virtual as dictated by the presiding judge,” the statement added.
Will the Georgia trial be televised?
If Trump appears in person for the arraignment, this will be the first criminal hearing of Trump’s in which TV cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom.
Georgia law allows photography and live video inside the courtroom as long as it doesn’t interfere with or disrupt the proceedings. The same rules are expected to apply when the trial gets underway — though there may be exceptions.
Clark Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, predicted that “certain testimony might not be televised because a witness is really risking their life,” noting that there have already been death threats against others involved in the cases against Trump.
“I would think that they would want to keep the camera off the jury box the whole time,” Cunningham said.
Photographers were briefly allowed inside the Manhattan courtroom where the former president was arraigned in April. Trump’s other two arraignments took place in federal courtrooms, where not even cellphones were allowed.
Source: Yahoo News
Donald Trump turned himself in Thursday evening for arrest and processing at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail after being indicted along with 18 others for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
After being booked, Trump made a statement to the press gathered at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. “I really believe this is a sad day for America. This should never happen,” Trump said. “If you challenge an election, you should be able to challenge an election. I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election, and I should have every right to do that.”
Unlike in the three other criminal cases in which Trump has been indicted, arrested and arraigned, the former president was obliged to pose for a mug shot at the jail, as have all of those charged with crimes stemming from the election plot. His bond had been set at $200,000, and he used Foster Bail Bonds LLC to pay it, according to reports.
“Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mug shot ready for you,” Labat told reporters earlier this month, the Associated Press reported.
Trump stands charged with 13 felony counts in Fulton County, including violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Why it matters: The Georgia case brings the number of felony counts Trump will face in a courtroom to 91. Unlike many of the federal charges, a guilty verdict of violating Georgia’s RICO Act could make him ineligible for pardon and require him to serve time in jail.
Willis requests October start for Georgia trial
Key players: Fani Willis, Judge Scott McAfee, attorney Kenneth Chesebro,
In a court filing Thursday, Willis laid out an ambitious request for the start of the case against Trump and 18 of his associates: Oct. 23, Reuters reported.
While that date is largely seen as unrealistic for all of the defendants given the sprawling size of the Georgia case, McAfee agreed Thursday that Chesebro’s trial could begin then, The Hill reported.
Lawyers for Chesebro, one of the alleged architects of the fake elector scheme, demanded speedy proceedings in a Wednesday filing. Willis cited that request in her own court filing on Thursday.
Why it matters:
The strategy for Trump’s legal team in the other criminal cases in which the former president has been indicted has been to delay the legal proceedings until after the 2024 election. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Thursday showed Trump’s GOP support would fall by 17 points if he were to be convicted of a serious crime in the coming months.
Trump shakes up legal team
Key players: Attorney Steven Sadow, attorney Drew Findling
As he prepared to turn himself in for booking in Fulton County on Thursday, Trump overhauled his legal representation in the Georgia case, replacing Findling with Atlanta attorney Sadow, CNN reported.
Sadow is perhaps best known for having defended notable musicians like Usher, Gucci Mane and Cardi B.
“The president should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him,” Sadow said in a statement.
Why it matters: Sadow has experience defending clients charged with violations of Georgia’s RICO law, as when he represented rapper Gunna in 2022.
It’s a presidential portrait that’s sure to go down in history. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia publicly released a mug shot of former president Donald Trump, inmate no. P01135809, after he was booked at the facility Thursday evening on 13 felony counts stemming from his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in that state.
Trump and 18 of his allies, who are also in the process of surrendering, were named in a 98-page indictment last week that outlines a long list of alleged crimes, including racketeering (under Georgia’s RICO laws), conspiracy to commit forgery, filing of false documents and soliciting a violation of oath by a public officer. The Georgia indictment is Trump’s fourth since leaving office in January 2021.
Why it matters:
Even though it’s also Trump’s fourth time being booked and processed on criminal charges, Thursday was the first time his mug shot was taken. It also came one day after the first 2024 Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, which he notably skipped.
Prior to the indictment, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat indicated that, if charged, Trump would be subject to the regular booking process for criminal defendants, which includes fingerprinting and posing for mug shots.
Thursday was also the first time Trump had to surrender at a jail. Following his three previous indictments, the former president was able to turn himself in at the time of his arraignments at federal courthouses in Miami and Washington, D.C., and at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
What’s next for the Georgia case:
In a court filing Thursday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis proposed a new trial date of October 23, 2023, after defendant Kenneth Chesebro asked for a speedy trial.
Willis also proposed the week of Sept. 5 for all 19 defendants to appear for an arraignment, in a court filing last week.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office previously noted in a press release that the booking process is separate from an arraignment for criminal cases in Fulton County. “In this case, some arraignments/appearances may be virtual as dictated by the presiding judge,” the statement added.
Will the Georgia trial be televised?
If Trump appears in person for the arraignment, this will be the first criminal hearing of Trump’s in which TV cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom.
Georgia law allows photography and live video inside the courtroom as long as it doesn’t interfere with or disrupt the proceedings. The same rules are expected to apply when the trial gets underway — though there may be exceptions.
Clark Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, predicted that “certain testimony might not be televised because a witness is really risking their life,” noting that there have already been death threats against others involved in the cases against Trump.
“I would think that they would want to keep the camera off the jury box the whole time,” Cunningham said.
Photographers were briefly allowed inside the Manhattan courtroom where the former president was arraigned in April. Trump’s other two arraignments took place in federal courtrooms, where not even cellphones were allowed.
Source: Yahoo News
