The first two co-defendants of former President Donald Trump have been booked into the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, online records show.
Scott Hall, a bail bondsman who is accused of conspiring to illegally access voting machines in Georgia’s Coffee County in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, was booked on Aug. 22.
Another co-defendant, former Trump attorney John Eastman, also was booked into jail, records show.
They and all 19 defendants in the alleged election fraud case are accused of violating Georgia’s racketeering law. They contested the Georgia election results.
In doing so, they allegedly illegally tried to keep President Trump in office, according to the indictment filed on Aug. 14.
Each co-defendant also faces specific additional charges; 41 total charges were filed, many of which include multiple defendants.
President Trump faces 11 charges.
Judge Scott McAfee had set Mr. Hall’s bond at $10,000 cash or 10 percent surety, under a “consent bond order” that was filed on Aug. 21 in Fulton County’s Superior Court.
The judge also set bond amounts for President Trump, $200,000; $100,000 each for Mr. Eastman and attorney Kenneth Chesebro; and $50,000 for attorney Ray Smith III.
The status of the remaining defendants was unclear on Aug. 22. They face a deadline of noon on Aug. 25 to turn themselves in or be arrested.
So far, all of the defendants’ bond agreements include communication restrictions. They are all barred from communicating about the case with each other or with witnesses, except through attorneys.
Additional conditions were placed on President Trump, forbidding him from issuing any direct or indirect threats on social media, or reposting any such messages from other people.
However, the former president can make general statements about the case.
On Aug. 21, hours after the bond was set, President Trump criticized Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for seeking the $200,000 bond to ensure he would appear in court.
“I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a ‘flight’ risk—I’d fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold-domed suite with Vladimir [Putin, the Russian president] never to be seen or heard from again,” President Trump wrote.
In doing so, he was taking a swipe against the years-long investigation alleging that he colluded with Russians.
Mr. Durham said the FBI should never have launched the inquiry but broke its own rules and persisted with the investigation anyhow.
President Trump, in his Truth Social post, mused: “Would I be able to take my very ‘understated’ airplane with the gold Trump affixed for all to see? Probably not. I’d be much better off flying commercial [airline]—I’m sure nobody would recognize me!”
“In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for ’murder,' but for making a perfect phone call!”
The former president is referring to a phone conversation he had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021.
During the call, President Trump raised concerns that fraudulent votes were counted for his opponent, Democrat Joe Biden, after the November 2020 election. President Trump noted that fewer than 12,000 votes made the difference between him and his opponent.
During the call, President Trump said he wanted to “find” the votes to make up the difference.
Critics of President Trump interpret that statement as pressuring Mr. Raffensperger to commit election fraud. But former President Trump and his supporters interpret the statement as an expression of his concern over the allegedly fraudulent votes.
President Trump also further criticized Ms. Willis, saying: “She campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this witch hunt. This is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Biden’s [Department of Justice]. It is all about election interference!”
The former president, who is the runaway favorite to represent the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election according to opinion polls, has been indicted four times since late March.
He has pleaded not guilty in the first three cases and has yet to enter a plea in the Georgia case.
He and his supporters accuse his presumed 2024 political opponent, President Biden, of working with other Democrats to undermine his candidacy.
President Biden has denied unduly influencing the cases against President Trump.
