The arraignment of former President Donald Trump in Georgia on charges of election tampering is set to be televised after a judge ruled to allow cameras into the courtroom.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Aug. 22 agreed to a request by four local television stations to bring cameras into the courtroom to record arraignments, marking the first time that one of President Trump’s criminal proceedings will be televised.
Judge McAfee’s order allows recording of video and audio between Aug. 23 and Sept. 8, 2023, which covers the period when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she plans to hold the arraignments.
According to court records, President Trump has agreed to have his bond set at $200,000.
Ms. Willis has proposed a March 4, 2024, trial date, which falls outside the scope of Judge McAfee’s order permitting cameras.
President Trump and 18 co-defendants have been charged with a litany of alleged crimes in connection with their efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
The defendants have denied any wrongdoing, and President Trump has accused Ms. Willis of corruption and election interference.
‘Proudly’ Arrested
On Wednesday, President Trump confirmed he will be surrendering to authorities at Fulton County Jail in Georgia on Thursday, Aug. 24.“Nobody has ever fought for election integrity like President Donald J. Trump. For doing so, I will proudly be arrested tomorrow afternoon in Georgia. God bless the United States of America,” he wrote on Truth Social.
President Trump, like each of his 18 co-defendants in the case, has been charged under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a law drafted to fight the mafia.
The 98-page indictment alleges that President Trump and his co-conspirators did “constitute a criminal organization.”
President Trump himself has been charged with 13 counts, including solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiracy to commit filing of false documents.
The former president’s co-defendants include former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, his former attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, and attorney Sidney Powell.
Ms. Willis said at a press conference last week that the goal of the defendants was to allow President Trump to “seize the presidential term of office” after Jan. 20, 2021.
The grand jury issued arrest warrants for the defendants, but Ms. Willis said she is allowing them to voluntarily surrender by no later than noon on Friday, Aug. 25.
President Trump’s campaign released a statement alleging the charges are a politically-motivated attack by Ms. Willis.
The former president took to social media on Monday to say that the case is “all about election interference.”
“Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Lawmaker Demands Special Session to Investigate Ms. Willis
Georgia Republican state Sen. Colton Moore has demanded a special emergency legislative session to investigate the actions of Ms. Willis, in a move that Mr. Moore said could lead to her impeachment.In a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the Republican lawmaker said that, in his opinion, “an emergency exists in the affairs of the state, requiring a special session to be convened” under Georgia law “for all purposes, to include, without limitation, the review and response to the actions of Fani Willis.”
In a statement obtained by The Epoch Times, Mr. Moore said he’s “calling on my colleagues in the Georgia legislature to join me in calling for an emergency session to investigate and review her actions and determine if they warrant impeachment.”
Ms. Willis’ office declined to comment, while Mr. Kemp’s spokesperson dismissed the special session as pointless.
