Trump, co-defendants in Georgia election case expected to be booked in Fulton County jail, sheriff says
Washington — Former President Donald Trump and the 18 others facing state felony charges related to alleged efforts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia are expected to be booked at the jail in Fulton County, the sheriff's office said Tuesday.
Local law enforcement said that in Fulton County, where a grand jury returned the indictment charging Trump and his 18 co-defendants Monday, the booking and arraignment processes are separate. Citing guidance received from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' office and the judge presiding over the case, the sheriff's office said all 19 defendants named in the charging document are expected to be booked at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta.
"Keep in mind, defendants can turn themselves in at any time. The jail is open 24/7," the sheriff's office said.
Willis said Monday after the indictment was unsealed that Trump and the 18 others have until Aug. 25 to surrender to authorities.
Multiple sources told CBS News that negotiations are underway for Trump to turn himself in, and two sources familiar with the planning said it's likely he will do so next week. While the first debate involving eight Republican presidential candidates is set to take place next Wednesday in Milwaukee, it's unclear whether Trump, who has qualified to be on the stage, will participate.
Trump has been charged with 13 counts related to alleged attempts to unlawfully change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in his favor. The former president and 18 others are accused of conspiring to overturn President Biden's electoral win in Georgia in violation of the state's racketeering law. Other charges brought against the former president include making false statements, soliciting Georgia's secretary of state and state lawmakers to violate their oaths, and conspiring to commit forgery through the plot involving a fake slate of presidential electors.
The 98-page indictment lists 41 counts in all. Others charged include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, and lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Sidney Powell. The charging document also states there are 30 unnamed, unindicted co-conspirators who, with Trump and his 18 co-defendants, allegedly "constituted a criminal organization" whose members engaged in "various criminal activities" with the goal of overturning Trump's loss in Georgia.
Meadows is seeking to have the case against him in Fulton County be moved to federal court because the conduct alleged in the indictment took place while he was chief of staff. His lawyers also indicated in a court filing they plan to file a motion to dismiss the charges.
"Nothing Mr. Meadows is alleged in the indictment to have done is criminal per se: arranging Oval Office meetings, contacting state officials on the President's behalf, visiting a state government building, and setting up a phone call for the President," they wrote. "One would expect a Chief of Staff to the President of the United States to do these sorts of things."
Giuliani told CBS News in a statement that the case "is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system."
"The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly," he said.
A spokesperson for Clark said he is "a brilliant legal mind who has litigated cases of national significance in and out of government for decades."
"Willis is exceeding her powers by inserting herself into the operations of the federal government to go after Jeff," said the spokesperson, Rachel Cauley.
Eastman's attorney, Charles Burnham, criticized the indictment and said those charged were engaging in political, not criminal, activity.
"Lawyers everywhere should be sleepless over this latest stunt to criminalize their advocacy," he said in a statement. "This is a legal cluster-bomb that leaves unexploded ordinance for lawyers to navigate in perpetuity. Dr. Eastman will challenge this indictment in any and all forums available to him."
The criminal case in Fulton County is now the fourth that has been brought against Trump this year, and the second involving efforts to thwart the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election. The former president is facing four federal charges stemming from his alleged attempts to hold on to power in a case brought by special counsel Jack Smith earlier this month.
With the Fulton County indictment, Trump faces 91 state and federal charges in all across the four indictments. He has pleaded not guilty in the three cases where he has been arraigned and denied any wrongdoing related to the charges in Fulton County. Trump's lawyers on Monday criticized the investigation, saying "this one-sided grand jury presentation relied on witnesses who harbor their own personal and political interests."
"We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment which is undoubtedly just as flawed and unconstitutional as this entire process has been," said the attorneys, Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg.
Nikole Killion contributed to this report