Georgia election case: Trump, other 18 defendants surrender to authorities

Former President Trump was processed and released on bail.

Last Updated: August 24, 2023, 8:44 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump and the 18 other defendants charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia all surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.

Trump and 17 other defendants were processed and released on bail, with one defendant held without bond. Several defendants also mounted legal challenges to the DA's case.

Top headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Aug 24, 2023, 8:44 AM EDT

Trump expected to shake up legal team ahead of surrender

Former President Donald Trump is expected to shake up his legal team as soon as Thursday, just hours ahead of plans for Trump to surrender to authorities in Fulton County, Georgia, sources with direct knowledge tell ABC News.

Drew Findling is expected to depart the team and be replaced by attorney Steven Sadow, according to the sources.

Read more about the decision.

Aug 24, 2023, 7:25 AM EDT

Trump expected to surrender in Georgia Thursday

Former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday.

A judge had set his bond at $200,000 on Tuesday.

Former President Donald Trump talks with Tucker Carlson during a taped interview released on X (formerly Twitter) on the same night as the first Republican Presidential primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Aug. 23, 2023.
@TuckerCarlson via X, formerly Twitter

Trump and 18 others were charged last week by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.

The former president says his actions were not illegal and that the investigation is politically motivated.

-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin, Will Steakin and Peter Charalambous</>

Aug 23, 2023, 6:54 PM EDT

Willis says she had 'a duty and a responsibility to bring charges'

Speaking on a local Atlanta radio show, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defended her decision to bring the sprawling racketeering case, arguing that the case is an even-handed application of the law.

"There's really nothing sexy about this," Willis told Atlanta Up Close's Maria Boynton. "There's allegations of a crime, and then to look at the law and if the facts bear out that the law has been broken, then we have a duty and a responsibility to bring charges."

The DA also said that recent threats made against her will not deter her from pursuing her case against the former president and his co-defendants.

"In the words of Jay-Z, brush my shoulders off and we just keep pushing," Willis said. "That is not going to deter me from doing my job."

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, talks with a member of her team in Fulton County, Ga., May 2, 2022.
Ben Gray/AP, FILE

Willis described the process of determining defendants' bond amounts as "literally just plugging things in" to a formula based on factors related to a defendant's flight risk. She also reiterated her past statement about the requirement for all defendants to surrender for processing by Friday at noon.

"Should people fail to turn themselves in, then a warrant will be filed on the system, and they'll have to be arrested," she said.

Of the 19 defendants, 15 have negotiated their bond packages and nine have subsequently been booked and released.

Aug 23, 2023, 6:12 PM EDT

Judge denies Meadows' motion to move case to federal court

A federal judge has denied former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' emergency motion seeking removal of his Fulton County case to federal court.

The judge also denied Meadows' bid to prevent his arrest.

"While Meadows' imminent arrest may present an actual injury, there are strong countervailing reasons to not enjoin the state criminal proceedings," the judge said in the ruling.

Meadows last week filed a motion to move his case on the basis of a federal law that he argued requires the removal of criminal proceedings brought in state court to the federal court system when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official acting "under color" of their office.

"The Court determines that, the clear statutory language for removing a criminal prosecution, does not support an injunction or temporary stay prohibiting District Attorney Willis' enforcement or execution of the arrest warrant against Meadows," the judge said in denying the motion.

Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer have also filed motions seeking to move their cases into federal court.

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