Georgia election case: Trump, other 18 defendants surrender to authorities
Former President Trump was processed and released on bail.
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.
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Trump lands in Atlanta
Trump's plane has landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He is expected to be booked then released at the Fulton County Jail this evening.
John Eastman will seek speedy trial separate from others, lawyer says
Appearing on CNN, John Eastman's attorney Harvey Silverglate said his client intends to sever his case from his co-defendants and pursue a speedy trial.
"We are going to move to sever his case from the others and move for a severed trial which means we want to be tried alone," Silverglate said. "We'd like to have a speedy trial -- that is, we would like to be tried right away. It'll take three weeks and the whole nightmare will be over for him."
As of Thursday evening, Eastman has not filed a speedy trial motion or a motion to sever his case, according to his docket.
Eastman is charged with nine counts, including solicitation as well as conspiracies to commit forgery, make false statements and impersonate a public officer. The former Trump lawyer is alleged to have been involved in a scheme to solicit public officers to unlawfully appoint Georgia presidential electors.
Defendant Kenneth Chesebro has also filed for a speedy trial, while Mark Meadows, Kenneth Clark and David Shafer have separately filed to have their cases moved into federal court.
Trump plane takes off for Atlanta
Trump's plane has taken off from New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport en route to Atlanta for his anticipated booking at the Fulton County Jail this evening.
Hearing scheduled on Jeffrey Clark's bid to move case to federal court
Judge Steve Jones has set a hearing date of Sept. 18 for former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark's bid to move his Fulton County criminal charges to federal court.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may submit a written response to Clark's notice of removal no later than Sept. 5, according to Jones' order.
Co-defendants Mark Meadows and David Shafer are also seeking to move their cases into federal court.
Willis opposes Meadows' motion to move case to federal court
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has responded to Mark Meadows' emergency motion to prevent his arrest and remove his case to federal court, arguing that the former Trump chief of staff's arguments are "baseless and in direct contravention with the requirements of the law."
"In essence, the defendant's emergency motion is a plea to this Court to prevent the defendant from being arrested on the charges lawfully brought by the State of Georgia," the response said, highlighting that Meadows had previously requested additional time to surrender on two occasions.
Willis argued that Meadows' removal motion only entitles him to an evidentiary hearing, which is already set for August 28; otherwise, criminal proceedings in the case, including his surrender, can continue as planned, the response said.
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.
Among other allegations, the DA's indictment says Meadows traveled to Cobb County Center and "attempted to observe the signature match audit being performed by law enforcement officers and officials from the Georgia Secretary of State despite the fact that the process was not open to the public" and that he sent a text message to a state investigator on Dec. 27, 2020, asking if there was a way to "speed up" results ahead of Jan. 6, "in furtherance of the conspiracy."