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

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."

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.

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.

Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, one of the 19 defendants charged in the DA's indictment, has filed a request for a speedy trial -- a development that a RICO expert says could have a "massive" impact on the case.

Chris Timmons, a former Georgia prosecutor who is an expert on Georgia racketeering laws -- which are known as RICO for short -- tells ABC News that when a defendant files a speedy trial demand, they have to be tried within a certain amount of time, or they are acquitted by law.

Though it's not immediately clear what the exact effect will be in this case, Timmons said that many of the defendants won't be ready for trial that quickly, meaning the case could end up having multiple trials.

"That completely changes the strategy of this trial," Timmons said.

Referring to his time as a prosecutor, Timmons said, "We used to view [speedy trial requests] as a declaration of war. It means you are ready to go now."

Cheseboro, a former Trump-aligned attorney, faces seven counts in the indictment, which alleges that he outlined "multiple strategies for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021."

United States District Court Judge Steve Jones has denied Jeffrey Clark's motion for an emergency stay in his case.

Clark, a former Justice Department official, had sought an emergency stay of the Fulton County proceedings, including his arrest warrant, until after Labor Day, so a judge could rule on his motion to remove his case to federal court.

Clark, in a separate motion, is seeking to remove his case to federal court on the basis that he was serving as a high-ranking DOJ official during the timeframe alleged in the DA's indictment. Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer have also filed similar motions.

Clark is accused in the indictment of urging senior DOJ officials to falsely tell Georgia state officials that the DOJ had "identified significant concerns" about the tabulation of election returns in the state.