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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DA subpoenas Brad Raffensperger for Meadows hearing next week
Ahead of the hearing scheduled next week over Mark Meadows' effort to move the Fulton County RICO case to federal court, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has now issued multiple subpoenas for witnesses to appear, according to court filings in the case.
A federal judge last week ordered an "evidentiary hearing" on Meadows' motion to remove the case to federal court. Now, four witnesses are subpoenaed to appear.
Willis filed subpoenas on Thursday that had been issued for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and investigator Francis Watson -- both of whom Trump called in the wake of the 2020 election as part of his alleged effort to overturn the results.
Earlier this week, Willis also filed subpoenas for Kurt Hilbert and Alex Kaufman -- both of whom were on the Trump-Raffensperger call, according to a transcript of the call.
The subpoenas instruct the witnesses to appear in court for the Meadows hearing on Monday, according to copies of the subpoenas included in the court filings.
That hearing is set for Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. in Atlanta.
GOP-led committee opens investigation into DA Fani Willis
The same day Donald Trump is expected to surrender at Fulton County Jail, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, launched a probe into whether District Attorney Fani Willis coordinated with federal officials, including special counsel Jack Smith.
In a new letter, Jordan demands information and communications with the Department of Justice and federal officials on the funding Willis' office receives.
"Ms. Willis's indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding her actions raise serious concerns about whether such actions are politically motivated," the release states.
Willis rejected any claims of the indictments being politically motivated in a recent radio interview.
"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."
-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Peter Charalambous
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.
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.
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
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."