Architect of fake electors plot Ken Chesebro surrenders in Georgia
From CNN's From Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Shawn Nottingham
Kenneth Chesebro — the architect of the Trump campaign’s fake electors plot, who was charged in the Georgia election subversion case — has surrendered at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta.
District Attorney Fani Willis charged Chesebro last week with seven state crimes, including violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, conspiracy to commit forgery, and conspiracy to file false documents.
Chesebro was the legal architect of the multi-state plot to put forward fake slates of pro-Trump electors in Georgia and other states. Chesebro and other allies of former President Donald Trump hoped then-Vice President Mike Pence would delay Congress from certifying Biden’s victory — or even possibly recognize the fake GOP electors while rejecting Biden’s lawful electors on January 6.
After the indictment was announced, Chesebro’s attorney Scott Grubman said in a statement that “Mr. Chesebro did not once step foot in the State of Georgia on behalf of the campaign” and that he “stands ready to defend himself against these unfounded charges.”
CNN recently revealed for the first time that Chesebro was at the US Capitol during the insurrection on January 6, 2021. He was on restricted grounds but did not breach the building and was not violent.
4 min ago
Former Trump campaign lawyer Ray Smith surrenders at Fulton County jail
From CNN's Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Shawn Nottingham
Former Trump campaign lawyer Ray Smith has surrendered at the Fulton County jail.
Smith is charged with 12 crimes, including violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath and conspiring to commit forgery.
Documents made public Tuesday confirmed that Smith was in the room in December 2020 when the pro-Trump fake electors met in Atlanta.
Smith participated in a Georgia Senate hearing in December 2020 where he falsely alleged widespread fraud and voting irregularities and argued that the results “must be vacated and cannot be allowed to stand.” In the indictment, prosecutors allege that Smith made false statements at that hearing about illegal voting by felons and dead people.
50 min ago
Trump will travel to Georgia for his surrender Thursday evening, according to a source familiar
From Alayna Treene and Kristen Holmes
Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Georgia for his surrender at the Fulton County jail Thursday evening, sources familiar with plans tell CNN.
Trump will leave his Bedminster golf club in in the afternoon, and return to New Jersey following his surrender. There are no expected events at his club upon his return. His team expects that it will be a quick trip.
Trump's team has also been making arrangements for him to speak to the reporters traveling with him in Georgia, the sources said, though the former president may ultimately choose not to do so.
Trump was expected to take questions from reporters after he was arraigned in Washington, DC, earlier this month, but did not do so.
51 min ago
Rudy Giuliani says he's on his way to Georgia to surrender
From CNN's Paula Reid and Kristina Sgueglia
Former President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani departed his New York residence Wednesday, saying he is heading to Georgia and feeling “very good” about it.
“I’m going to Georgia, and I’m feeling very very good about it, because I feel like I’m defending the rights of all Americans as I did so many times as a United States attorney,” he said.
"I'm going to Fulton County to comply with the law which I always do. I don't know if I plead today but if I do, i'll plead not guilty," he added.
This comes as multiple sources say the former New York City mayor is planning to negotiate bond and surrender Wednesday — all in one day — unlike most other defendants who have spread the process across two or more days.
Speaking outside his New York City apartment early Wednesday, he said Trump is just a man who has been proven innocent many times.
“I don’t know how many times he has to be proven innocent and they have to be proven to be liars,” he said.
“Whether you dislike or you like Donald Trump, let me give you a warning, they’re gonna come for you,” he added.
57 min ago
Trump and co-defendants have 3 options to post bond in Fulton County
From CNN's Devan Cole
Donald Trump is expected to surrender at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case – and when he does the former president will have three different options to pay the $200,000 bond that will keep him from being detained in the facility as his case unfolds.
District Attorney Fani Willis has given the defendants until noon Friday to surrender at the jail and a number of them have negotiated so-called bond orders with her office to ensure a speedy surrender process.
As of Wednesday morning, just four of the defendants had surrendered.
Here's what to know about paying a bond in Fulton County and three different ways to do so to avoid being detained:
The first is with cash, which would require the amount to be paid in full at the jail.
The second way is through "commercial surety," in which a defendant would use a professional bonding company. The Fulton County Sheriff's Office publishes an "approved bonding list" for companies it works with. If a defendant goes with this option, the company doesn't actually pay any money to the county, but the defendant would have to pay a fee to the company for using their services.
The third option is the "Fulton County Jail 10% program," which allows a defendant to pay just 10% of their total bond amount — plus fees and other associated costs.
Trump election attorney John Eastman, who surrendered on Tuesday, went with the 10% option, as did Scott Hall, a professional bondsman in Atlanta, who was charged in the case with crimes related to his alleged involvement in the Coffee County, Georgia, voting systems breach
The consent bond orders being negotiated between the defendants' attorneys and Willis spell out the conduct a defendant is prohibited from engaging in and specifies the amount of money they have to pay for each count brought against them in the case.
For Trump, who was charged with 13 crimes in the case, his $200,000 includes $80,000 for allegedly violating Georgia's racketeering act and $10,000 for each of the remaining 12 counts brought against him.
Unlike some of his co-defendants, the former president is explicitly barred in his order from using social media to target his 18 co-defendants in the case, as well as any witnesses and the 30 unindicted co-conspirators.
The Fulton County election subversion case marks the first time the release conditions for Trump have included a cash bond and a prohibition on intimidation through social media.
A total of 19 people were charged in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case
From CNN's Marshall Cohen and Devan Cole
An Atlanta-based grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants on state charges last week stemming from their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat in the Peach State.
All of the defendants have until noon ET Friday to voluntarily surrender to authorities, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said.
Trump said he will turn himself in at the Fulton County jail on Thursday.
Here are the 19 people charged in the Georgia case, according to the indictment:
Donald Trump, former US president
Rudy Giuliani, Trump lawyer
Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff
John Eastman, Trump lawyer
Kenneth Chesebro, pro-Trump lawyer
Jeffrey Clark, top Justice Department official
Jenna Ellis, Trump campaign lawyer
Robert Cheeley, lawyer who promoted fraud claims
Mike Roman, Trump campaign official
David Shafer, Georgia GOP chair and fake elector
Shawn Still, fake GOP elector
Stephen Lee, pastor tied to intimidation of election workers
Harrison Floyd, leader of Black Voices for Trump
Trevian Kutti, publicist tied to intimidation of election workers
Sidney Powell, Trump campaign lawyer
Cathy Latham, fake GOP elector tied to Coffee County breach
Scott Hall, tied to Coffee County election system breach
Misty Hampton, Coffee County elections supervisor
Ray Smith, Trump campaign attorney
Read more about the Georgia 2020 election subversion case here.
Bond agreement: Trump has agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions, according to court documents. He is explicitly barred in the bond order from using social media to target the co-defendants and witnesses.
The charges: Trump is accused in the indictment of being the head of a “criminal enterprise” that was part of a broad conspiracy to overturn his electoral defeat in the state.
2024 race: Trump, who is the current GOP frontrunner, faces 91 charges across four separate criminal cases. He's not planning to participate in tonight's GOP debate — but his growing legal challenges are expected to loom large in the event.
Kenneth Chesebro — the architect of the Trump campaign’s fake electors plot, who was charged in the Georgia election subversion case — has surrendered at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta.
District Attorney Fani Willis charged Chesebro last week with seven state crimes, including violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, conspiracy to commit forgery, and conspiracy to file false documents.
Chesebro was the legal architect of the multi-state plot to put forward fake slates of pro-Trump electors in Georgia and other states. Chesebro and other allies of former President Donald Trump hoped then-Vice President Mike Pence would delay Congress from certifying Biden’s victory — or even possibly recognize the fake GOP electors while rejecting Biden’s lawful electors on January 6.
After the indictment was announced, Chesebro’s attorney Scott Grubman said in a statement that “Mr. Chesebro did not once step foot in the State of Georgia on behalf of the campaign” and that he “stands ready to defend himself against these unfounded charges.”
CNN recently revealed for the first time that Chesebro was at the US Capitol during the insurrection on January 6, 2021. He was on restricted grounds but did not breach the building and was not violent.
Former Trump campaign lawyer Ray Smith has surrendered at the Fulton County jail.
Smith is charged with 12 crimes, including violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath and conspiring to commit forgery.
Documents made public Tuesday confirmed that Smith was in the room in December 2020 when the pro-Trump fake electors met in Atlanta.
Smith participated in a Georgia Senate hearing in December 2020 where he falsely alleged widespread fraud and voting irregularities and argued that the results “must be vacated and cannot be allowed to stand.” In the indictment, prosecutors allege that Smith made false statements at that hearing about illegal voting by felons and dead people.
Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Georgia for his surrender at the Fulton County jail Thursday evening, sources familiar with plans tell CNN.
Trump will leave his Bedminster golf club in in the afternoon, and return to New Jersey following his surrender. There are no expected events at his club upon his return. His team expects that it will be a quick trip.
Trump's team has also been making arrangements for him to speak to the reporters traveling with him in Georgia, the sources said, though the former president may ultimately choose not to do so.
Trump was expected to take questions from reporters after he was arraigned in Washington, DC, earlier this month, but did not do so.
Former President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani departed his New York residence Wednesday, saying he is heading to Georgia and feeling “very good” about it.
“I’m going to Georgia, and I’m feeling very very good about it, because I feel like I’m defending the rights of all Americans as I did so many times as a United States attorney,” he said.
"I'm going to Fulton County to comply with the law which I always do. I don't know if I plead today but if I do, i'll plead not guilty," he added.
This comes as multiple sources say the former New York City mayor is planning to negotiate bond and surrender Wednesday — all in one day — unlike most other defendants who have spread the process across two or more days.
Speaking outside his New York City apartment early Wednesday, he said Trump is just a man who has been proven innocent many times.
“I don’t know how many times he has to be proven innocent and they have to be proven to be liars,” he said.
“Whether you dislike or you like Donald Trump, let me give you a warning, they’re gonna come for you,” he added.
Donald Trump is expected to surrender at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case – and when he does the former president will have three different options to pay the $200,000 bond that will keep him from being detained in the facility as his case unfolds.
District Attorney Fani Willis has given the defendants until noon Friday to surrender at the jail and a number of them have negotiated so-called bond orders with her office to ensure a speedy surrender process.
As of Wednesday morning, just four of the defendants had surrendered.
Here's what to know about paying a bond in Fulton County and three different ways to do so to avoid being detained:
The first is with cash, which would require the amount to be paid in full at the jail.
The second way is through "commercial surety," in which a defendant would use a professional bonding company. The Fulton County Sheriff's Office publishes an "approved bonding list" for companies it works with. If a defendant goes with this option, the company doesn't actually pay any money to the county, but the defendant would have to pay a fee to the company for using their services.
The third option is the "Fulton County Jail 10% program," which allows a defendant to pay just 10% of their total bond amount — plus fees and other associated costs.
Trump election attorney John Eastman, who surrendered on Tuesday, went with the 10% option, as did Scott Hall, a professional bondsman in Atlanta, who was charged in the case with crimes related to his alleged involvement in the Coffee County, Georgia, voting systems breach
The consent bond orders being negotiated between the defendants' attorneys and Willis spell out the conduct a defendant is prohibited from engaging in and specifies the amount of money they have to pay for each count brought against them in the case.
For Trump, who was charged with 13 crimes in the case, his $200,000 includes $80,000 for allegedly violating Georgia's racketeering act and $10,000 for each of the remaining 12 counts brought against him.
Unlike some of his co-defendants, the former president is explicitly barred in his order from using social media to target his 18 co-defendants in the case, as well as any witnesses and the 30 unindicted co-conspirators.
The Fulton County election subversion case marks the first time the release conditions for Trump have included a cash bond and a prohibition on intimidation through social media.
An Atlanta-based grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants on state charges last week stemming from their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat in the Peach State.
All of the defendants have until noon ET Friday to voluntarily surrender to authorities, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said.
Trump said he will turn himself in at the Fulton County jail on Thursday.
Here are the 19 people charged in the Georgia case, according to the indictment:
Donald Trump, former US president
Rudy Giuliani, Trump lawyer
Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff
John Eastman, Trump lawyer
Kenneth Chesebro, pro-Trump lawyer
Jeffrey Clark, top Justice Department official
Jenna Ellis, Trump campaign lawyer
Robert Cheeley, lawyer who promoted fraud claims
Mike Roman, Trump campaign official
David Shafer, Georgia GOP chair and fake elector
Shawn Still, fake GOP elector
Stephen Lee, pastor tied to intimidation of election workers
Harrison Floyd, leader of Black Voices for Trump
Trevian Kutti, publicist tied to intimidation of election workers
Sidney Powell, Trump campaign lawyer
Cathy Latham, fake GOP elector tied to Coffee County breach
Scott Hall, tied to Coffee County election system breach
Misty Hampton, Coffee County elections supervisor
Ray Smith, Trump campaign attorney
Read more about the Georgia 2020 election subversion case here.
