Trump will surrender Thursday in Georgia election case; judge approves $200K bail

ATLANTA — Donald Trump’s bail was set at $200,000 by a judge on Monday in the Georgia racketeering case that charged the former president and 18 allies with election interference in the state during the 2020 election. Trump also said he would surrender to authorities on Thursday.

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The bail agreement, called a consent order, sets strict rules for Trump’s release, The Washington Post reported. The former president is expected to surrender this week at the Fulton County Jail. The deadline is noon EDT on Friday.

Trump to surrender on Thursday

Update 8:23 p.m. EDT Aug. 21: Donald Trump said in a social media post that he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday, The Associated Press reported.

“Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday night, hours after his bail was set at $200,000.

In a news release on Monday, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said that there will be a “hard lockdown” of the area surrounding the Fulton County Jail when Trump surrenders, according to the AP.

Original report: Trump is prohibited from communicating with witnesses or co-defendants about the case, except through his attorneys, according to the newspaper. He is not allowed to intimidate witnesses or co-defendants.

Trump is also forbidden from making any “direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community,” including in “posts on social media or reposts of posts” by others on social media, the Post reported.

Trump and his co-defendants will be required to pay cash after they are booked in Atlanta, according to The New York Times. That is a departure from Trump’s three other criminal cases in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.

“The defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him … to be a co-defendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” the agreement states.

Trump’s bail for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, also known as RICO, was set at $80,000, The Associated Press reported. It adds $10,000 for each of the 12 other counts he is facing.

Defendants are only required to pay 10% of the bail amount, according to the Times.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

The agreement was approved by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee and posted on the court docket Monday afternoon, the Post reported. Earlier in the day, Trump’s Georgia-based legal team met with Fulton County prosecutors to negotiate the terms of release and bail, according to the newspaper.

It was signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Trump’s attorneys in Georgia -- Drew Findling. Marissa Goldberg and Jennifer Little.

Earlier Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set bail for John Eastman at $100,000 and Scott Hall at $10,000, WSB-TV reported.

Kenneth Cheseboro’s bail was set at $100,000, while Atlanta-based attorney Ray Smith III had bail set at $50,000, according to the television station.

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