Trump’s surrender in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case

Former President Donald Trump lands in Atlanta.

Former President Donald Trump landed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and is en route to the Fulton County jail to surrender and be booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results.

The former president, wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, gave a thumb’s up to reporters, aides and others gathered on the tarmac after he exited his private plane.

It is the fourth time this year the former president has faced criminal charges.

How the surrender is expected to unfold: Like several of his 18 co-defendants who have already surrendered at the jail, Trump’s processing through the facility will likely be completed quickly because the former president and his lawyers negotiated his consent bond agreement ahead of Thursday.

Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions, including not using social media to target the co-defendants or witnesses in the case.

Law enforcement officers drive near Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday.

Law enforcement is amping up security outside of the Fulton County jail, where former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender tonight.

More than 10 agencies from the Metro Atlanta area are at the scene, according to CNN’s Ryan Young. Canine units have been deployed to make sure there are no explosives and drones could be seen flying in the air, he reported.

One police source told Young that officers are comparing Trump’s surrender to the security level seen at the Super Bowl.

Atlanta has hosted three Super Bowls, the most recent in 2019.

A sign is posted outside of the Fulton County Jail on August 16, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia.

In typical cases in Fulton County, police make an arrest, the person arrested is booked into jail and that person must appear before a magistrate judge within 72 hours. But the process for defendants who are indicted and face grand jury arrest warrants – as is the case with Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants – works differently.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis gave the 19 defendants until noon ET on August 25 to surrender voluntarily. While the grand jury issued arrest warrants, those warrants do not become active until the district attorney enters them into the Georgia Crime Information Center, which is the statewide crime database. This is what we expect to happen if someone fails to voluntarily surrender by the deadline. 

In the meantime, the attorneys for defendants in the Trump case are expected to negotiate with the district attorney’s office to work out the terms of release and bond for their clients – this is known as a consent bond.

According to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, all defendants in this case are expected to be booked at the Rice Street Jail. Once a defendant enters the jail and is taken into custody, they are technically “under arrest.” They are not expected to be handcuffed. 

Once defendants are taken into custody, they are expected to be fingerprinted and have their mugshot taken, according to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat.

Normally, those taken into custody are thoroughly searched by a jail deputy. In the past, though, some high-profiled defendants who have voluntarily surrendered were not subjected to that thorough body search.

Defendants typically undergo a medical screening and receive a pre-trial consultation to determine whether they can sign out on their own recognizance. It’s unclear if that will happen with Trump and his co-defendants.

For a typical defendant, the booking process can take hours, much of which is spent waiting around for their turn to be booked.

But attorneys told CNN the process could move more swiftly for VIP defendants in the Trump case. They could theoretically be processed within 15 minutes if officials at the jail want to swiftly move them in and get them out.

If the defendants have a bond agreement in place, they will be processed and then released. If defendants do not have a bond agreement in place, they will be kept in custody.

Read more about surrenders at the Fulton County jail.

Former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants are accused of breaking a variety of criminal laws in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case, but one crime ties all their alleged misconduct together: the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The state law — which is commonly referred to as RICO — is similar to the federal version of the statute that targets so-called criminal enterprises. Georgia’s law allows prosecutors to pull an array of conduct into their indictments, including activities that took place outside of the state of Georgia but may have been part of a broad conspiracy.

Those convicted of racketeering charges also face steeper penalties, a point of leverage for prosecutors if they are hoping to flip potential co-conspirators or encourage defendants to take plea deals.

“Federal RICO is a very big deal. It’s difficult to prove, and it’s used pretty sparingly. Georgia RICO is a different animal. It’s easier to prove,” said Kenneth White, a defense attorney familiar with the federal law. “The point is, it’s used very aggressively there.”

For Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the law has been her calling card. The Atlanta-area prosecutor has used it in a number of high-profile cases she’s previously brought in Georgia against school officials, gangs and musicians, including the rapper Young Thug.

The historic 41-count indictment unsealed last week accuses Trump and the other defendants of being part of a broad conspiracy to attempt to overturn the 2020 election result in the Peach State.

Prosecutors say the criminal actions the charge is built around include: making false statements, filing false documents and forgeries, impersonating officials, computer breaches and attempts to influence witnesses.

Several of the acts alleged to have made up the racketeering conspiracy involved states other than Georgia.

Former President Donald Trump visits with campaign volunteers at the Elks Lodge in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in July.

Former President Donald Trump covered the cost of his $200,000 bond by putting 10% toward it and working with a local Atlanta bonding company Foster Bail Bonds LLC, sources told CNN.

Reached by phone Thursday, Foster Bail Bonds confirmed it is executing the former president’s bond that his attorneys previously negotiated.

Other defendants — most notably former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani — stopped by a professional bail bond company after being released from jail. And earlier Thursday, lawyers for former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows were spotted at a bail bond company near the Fulton County jail.

But Trump is not expected to appear at a bail bonds shop before heading back to Bedminster, according to a person familiar with the plans. 

Fulton County marks the first case where Trump has been required to pay a cash bail. His odds of being released without a cash bail were slim in Georgia. Trump was already facing three other felony indictments when he was charged here.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis also has a track record of demanding cash bail in racketeering cases involving non-violent offenses, as she did in the case involving Atlanta public school educators. 

Putting 10% toward the bond was one of the options available to Trump, per the agreement his attorneys reached with the Fulton County district attorney’s office.

Donald Trump’s newly-hired lawyer, Steven Sadow, will accompany him to the Fulton County jail on Thursday, CNN has learned. 

Sadow is currently waiting at the airport in Atlanta and will ride in the former president’s motorcade to the jail. 

Trump replaced his top Georgia lawyer Drew Findling with Sadow ahead of his surrender today, CNN previously reported. 

Sadow is an Atlanta-based attorney whose website profile describes him as a “special counsel for white collar and high-profile defense.”

Donald Trump’s plane has departed Newark Airport in New Jersey en route to Atlanta, where the former president will surrender and be booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results.

The flight is estimated to be roughly two hours. 

It is the fourth time this year the former president has faced criminal charges.

Like several of his 18 co-defendants who have already surrendered at the jail, Trump’s processing through the facility will likely be completed quickly because the former president and his lawyers negotiated his consent bond agreement ahead of Thursday.

Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions, including not using social media to target the co-defendants and witnesses in the case.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the sprawling racketeering case last week following a yearslong investigation, has asked for Trump and the other 18 defendants to be arraigned next month. Defendants have until noon on Friday to surrender.

The evening sun illuminates the Fulton County jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, August 23.

If former President Donald Trump were facing the booking process that newly charged criminal defendants in Fulton County typically experience, he might find himself lingering for hours at the jail waiting for his fingerprints and mug shot to be taken.

Even by the standards of local jails, the Fulton County jail on Rice Street has a reputation for troubled conditions for inmates. Last month, the US Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into living conditions, access to health care, violence against detainees and possible discrimination against those with psychiatric disabilities.

But the treatment that defendants receive when being booked and processed on criminal charges in Fulton County varies drastically, case by case. The system gives discretion to prosecutors, the magistrate judges who often preside over the first court appearances and the superior court judges who have been assigned the underlying case.

Trump is expected to turn himself to the jail this afternoon to be booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results.

While officials have vowed to treat Trump and his associates as they would any defendant, that is likely impossible due to the security precautions required for a former president and the high-profile nature of some of his co-defendants.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis gave Trump and his co-defendants in the case, which alleges they engaged in a racketeering scheme and other crimes in their efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, until Friday at noon ET to turn themselves in voluntarily. The window for self-surrender has given the defendants time for planning and for potential outreach to prosecutors to discuss how the process will work.

Custody at Fulton County jail: The Justice Department last month launched a civil rights investigation into the jail which has been the site of multiple deaths on the premises.

US Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke pointed to the death last year of LaShawn Thompson, whose family has blamed unsanitary conditions, including a bed bug and lice infestation, as contributing to his death.

Three jail officials stepped down earlier this year, after a preliminary investigation into Thompson’s death.

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat has sought more than $2 billion in county funding to build a new jail and has acknowledged the difficulties in meeting safety and health standards in the current facility, which, from the day that it opened, was not large enough to accommodate the population that comes through it.

In this May 2011 photo, Judge Steve Jones makes his remarks at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building in Atlanta.

US District Judge Steve Jones ordered a hearing for September 18 on the request by former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark that the Fulton County election subversion case against him be moved to federal court.   

The order sets the stage for a hearing similar to the proceeding Jones will be presiding over on Monday in former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ effort to move the prosecution to federal court.

There are some differences in how Clark has framed his legal arguments, and the proceedings will focus on a different set of facts, as the indictment accuses Clark of being connected to a set alleged election subversion schemes separate to the episodes that underly the charges against Meadows. 

John Eastman makes a statement to press outside the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Conservative attorney John Eastman’s legal team wants to have a separate trial from other defendants in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case. 

Eastman’s team has not yet filed to sever his case. 

Silverglate argued that his client is “in a very different position” from the other 18 defendants — including former President Donald Trump — because he was acting as an attorney and giving legal advice. 

Silverglate added that Eastman’s legal team would “like him to be tried right away” and expect the trial to take three weeks because it’s “a very simple case.” 

More background: Eastman faces nine charges stemming from the case. He devised and promoted a six-step plan for former Vice President Mike Pence to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory while presiding over the Electoral College certification on January 6, according to the indictment. He also urged Georgia state lawmakers to appoint fake GOP electors to replace the legitimate slate of Democratic electors.

A bipartisan array of legal scholars have said Eastman’s schemes were unconstitutional.

Judge Scott McAfee.

The judge presiding over the Georgia election subversion case scheduled pro-Trump lawyer Ken Chesebro’s trial to begin October 23, according to a new court filing. 

Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee said this order does not apply to any other co-defendants at this time. Former President Donald Trump opposes holding the trial so soon. 

This October 23 date was set after Chesebro requested a speedy trial, as is his right as a criminal defendant. McAfee said that under Georgia’s speedy-trial law, Chesebro’s trial would need to happen by November 3. 

Chesebro — the alleged architect of the “fake electors” plot — is set to be arraigned on September 6, the order says. But the judge noted that Chesebro can waive his right to an arraignment. 

In the order, McAfee also rejected Chesebro’s preliminary requests to dismiss the charges against him and to throw out some of the evidence collected by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The judge said Chesebro’s motions, which were filed on Wednesday, were “insufficiently particularized” and were therefore denied. 

As of Thursday morning, members of Donald Trump’s team were unsure whether the former president would have a mug shot taken when he surrenders at the Fulton County jail, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. 

The sheriff has insisted publicly that Trump will be treated like any other defendant. His co-defendants have all had their mug shots taken. 

But people around the former president indicated they believed it was still an ongoing discussion that had not yet been settled.

Trump is expected to surrender on Thursday evening.

Mark Meadows

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office released a mug shot of Mark Meadows, Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff.

Meadows surrendered earlier Thursday to be booked on charges brought against him for his alleged role in schemes to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

Meadows has been charged with two crimes: Violating Georgia’s RICO act — an anti-racketeering law — and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath. He denies wrongdoing.

The former White House official has agreed to a $100,000 bond deal with prosecutors, according to court documents.

Harrison Floyd.

Harrison Floyd, the leader of Black Voices for Trump who was charged in the Georgia election subversion case, has surrendered at the Fulton County jail. 

The Fulton County sheriff confirmed in a statement that Floyd is “in custody” at the local jail after turning himself in without a bond agreement in hand.

“While Mr. Meadows had previously negotiated his bond agreement and has been released, Mr. Floyd did not and, therefore, is in custody at the Fulton County Jail,” the statement said, referring to Mark Meadows’ earlier surrender and quick release from the facility.

Floyd is the first defendant in the case to surrender without a bond deal with prosecutors. Securing a deal before entering the jail allows a defendant to be swiftly released after booking.

Floyd is expected to appear before Judge Scott McAfee for his first appearance and bond hearing, court officials tell CNN. The hearing could be scheduled in the next 24 hours.

District Attorney Fani Willis charged Floyd with three state crimes: Violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, influencing a witness, and conspiring to solicit false statements.

Prosecutors say Floyd participated in a plot to pressure an Atlanta worker into falsely admitting that she committed massive fraud against former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

According to court filings, Floyd arranged a meeting between Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman and Trevian Kutti, a publicist who pressured Freeman to falsely admit to voter fraud.

Floyd is also facing a simple assault charge in a separate case for allegedly assaulting an FBI agent who came to serve him a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury in Washington, DC.

In that case, Floyd is alleged to have threatened two FBI agents who served him the subpoena at his apartment in Rockville, Maryland, on February 23 by running after them and “striking” one agent “chest to chest.”

CNN’s Holmes Lybrand contributed reporting to this post.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has been released after being booked at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta, Georgia.

The process took about an hour. He was released on a $100,000 bond, which he negotiated today with prosecutors before his surrender.

Former President Donald Trump speaks as he campaigns at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 12.

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday posted on social media platform Truth Social as he prepared to travel to Georgia to turn himself in at the Fulton County jail after being criminally charged in the state’s 2020 election subversion case. 

“ARREST TIME: 7:30 P.M.,” Trump posted.

In the same post, the former president touted the number of views his interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson racked up on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Trump sat for the interview in lieu of participating in the first GOP primary debate on Wednesday night. 

“231,000,000 Views, and still counting. The Biggest Video on Social Media, EVER, more than double the Super Bowl! But please excuse me, I have to start getting ready to head down to Atlanta, Georgia, where Murder and other Violent Crimes have reached levels never seen before, to get ARRESTED by a Radical Left, Lowlife District Attorney, Fani Willis, for A PERFECT PHONE CALL, and having the audacity to challenge a RIGGED & STOLLEN ELECTION. THE EVIDENCE IS IRREFUTABLE! ARREST TIME: 7:30 P.M.,” Trump wrote. 

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers told the judge in his Georgia 2020 election subversion case on Thursday that they oppose District Attorney Fani Willis’ proposed October 23 trial date.  

Willis made the request in a court filing earlier today.

The lawyers also that they will attempt to separate his Georgia case from co-defendant Ken Chesebro, who is trying to speed up the trial date.

In this October 2020 photo, then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows speaks with reporters at the White House.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has surrendered to be booked on charges brought against him by local prosecutors in Georgia for his alleged role in schemes to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

Before the return of the Fulton County grand jury indictment last week, Meadows had maintained an extremely low profile in the criminal investigations swirling around former President Donald Trump.

Meadows has been charged with two crimes: Violating Georgia’s RICO act — an anti-racketeering law — and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath. He denies wrongdoing.

The allegations mainly revolve around the ex-chief of staff’s participation in the infamous phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early January 2021, when Trump pressured him to “find” enough votes to make him the winner.

Meadows has agreed to a $100,000 bond deal with prosecutors, according to court documents.

He is seeking to have his case removed to federal court, arguing the charges against him should be dismissed under a federal immunity law that shields conduct done in connection with one’s role as a US government official. He had asked the court to delay any surrender or arrest in the meantime, but the judge refused.

More background: Meadows was Trump’s final White House chief of staff, and he played a key role in exploring ways to overturn the 2020 election. In addition to the infamous phone call with Raffensperger, he attended a December 2020 White House meeting where Trump considered using the military to seize voting machines.

Emails show that he also urged Justice Department officials to investigate shoddy fraud allegations, though that is not part of the charges.

CNN’s Dan Berman and Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender on Thursday to be booked on more than a dozen charges related to the Georgia 2020 election subversion case.

Trump is expected to travel from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club to Atlanta this afternoon to turn himself in at the notorious Fulton County jail.

Here’s how his day is expected to go:

Top row, left to right: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeffrey Clark, Jenna Ellis,Middle row, left to right: Ray Smith, Robert Cheeley, Mike Roman, David Shafer, Shawn Still, Harrison Floyd,Bottom row, left to right: Trevian Kutti, Sidney Powell, Cathy Latham, Scott Hall, Misty Hampton, Stephen LeeCenter: Former President Donald Trump

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ proposed timeline would put the proceedings on hyper-speed, and some legal experts say her timeline to try all 19 defendants at once starting in two months isn’t plausible.

She told reporters last week when the indictment was returned that she would seek a trial that would begin within six months, and on Thursday proposed an even faster pace.

But lawyers for former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants have previewed the likelihood of pre-trial disputes that will drag the proceedings out. Already three defendants are seeking to move the case to federal court, and the former president is expected to launch a similar bid of his own.

Another sprawling anti-racketeering case brought by Willis suggests that such a timeline is unrealistic. The case, alleging that Jeffrey Williams, the rapper Young Thug, and several of his associates violated Georgia’s RICO law – the key charge in the Trump case – has moved slowly to trial, despite a move by Williams to assert his right to speedy trial.

Jury selection in the case began in January 2023 — more than a year and a half after the charges were brought. The jury selection remains ongoing and has lasted for more than six months.

While Trump’s co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro has every right to seek a quick trial under the Speedy Trial Act’s expedited timeframe, forcing the other defendants to prepare for a trial in such a short time period may raise constitutional issues, said Ellie Honig, a CNN legal analyst.

It could lead to the possibility that the case’s defendants could be split up – or severed – from the case, Honig added.

Jeffrey Clark attends a hearing in the US Capitol in June 2023.

Former top Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark struck a bond agreement with prosecutors Thursday in the Georgia election interference criminal case. 

The agreement allows Clark to be released on a $100,000 bond after turning himself into law enforcement, which he must do by Friday’s noon deadline. 

Harry MacDougald, Clark’s attorney, was seen Thursday at the government complex in Fulton County where attorneys for the 19 defendants have been negotiating bond agreements with Georgia prosecutors. 

Clark previously tried and failed to ask a federal judge to put his arrest on hold. 

Clark allegedly tried to use his powers as a senior Trump appointee in the Justice Department to overturn the 2020 election. He lobbied Trump to become acting attorney general after the election, though he ultimately was not appointed after other senior Justice Department officials threatened to resign.

Trevian Kutti poses for a photo in December 2021 in Miami.

Trevian Kutti, who was charged in the Georgia case in connection with the intimidation of an Atlanta election worker, has reached a bond agreement with prosecutors ahead of her surrender.

She hasn’t turned herself in yet. When she does, she will be released on $75,000 bond, according to the agreement, which was filed Thursday.

The other terms of the deal say she cannot “intimidate any person known to her to be a co-defendant or witness” in the case, which is particularly relevant, given her charges. It also says she is banned from posting on social media about the case, including but not limited to posts on Instagram. 

District Attorney Fani Willis charged Kutti with three state crimes: violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, influencing a witness, and conspiring to solicit false statements.  

Prosecutors say Kutti participated in a plot to pressure an Atlanta worker into falsely admitting that she committed massive fraud against former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.  

Kutti sought a meeting in January 2021 with Ruby Freeman, a Fulton County elections worker who was falsely accused by Trump and his allies of rigging the election in Georgia. At that meeting, which was videotaped by police, Kutti tried to influence Freeman about the supposed fraud, according to the indictment. 

She is a former publicist to musicians R. Kelly and Kanye West. She previously said in Instagram posts that her meeting with Freeman was “cordial” and denied that any pressure or “bullying” had occurred.  

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference in Atlanta on August 14.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has requested an October 23, 2023, trial date in the election subversion case she’s brought against former President Donald Trump and 18 of his supporters, according to a court filing Thursday.

Willis pointed to a request filed Wednesday by Trump co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro that sought a quick trial under Georgia’s Speedy Trial Act. Willis had told reporters last week when the indictment was returned that she would seek a trial that would begin within the six months.

Legal experts at the time said that timeline was not plausible, especially as Willis has also indicated she’d like to try the 19 defendants all together. Lawyers for Trump and his co-defendants have previewed the likelihood of pre-trial disputes that will drag the proceedings out. Already three defendants are seeking to move the case to federal court, and the former president is expected to launch a similar bid of his own.

Another sprawling anti-racketeering case brought by Willis suggests that such a timeline is unrealistic. The case, alleging that Jeffrey Williams, the rapper Young Thug, and several of his associates violated Georgia’s RICO law – the key charge in the Trump case – has moved slowly to trial, despite a move by Williams to assert his right to speedy trial. 

Jury selection in the case began in January 2023, more than a year and a half the charges were brought. The jury selection remains ongoing and has lasted for more than six months.

Ellie Honig, a CNN legal analyst, said on CNN News Central that while Chesebro has every right to seek a quick trial under the Speedy Trial Act’s expedited timeframe, forcing the other defendants to prepare for a trial in such a short time period may raise constitutional issues. It could lead to possibility that the case’s defendants could be split up – or severed – from the case, Honig said.

Trump opposes the motion, his attorneys said in a filing this afternoon.

Mark Meadows listens as then-President Donald Trump speaks from the South Lawn of the White House in July 2020.

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has agreed to a $100,000 bond deal with prosecutors, according to court documents.

Meadows is seeking to have his case removed to federal court and had asked a judge to delay any surrender or arrest in the meantime. The judge refused, and Meadows now looks set to meet Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ Friday noon deadline for the 19 defendants in the election subversion case.

The terms of the bond deal appear to be boilerplate in nature, similar to the deals inked with other defendants.

Meadows was charged with two crimes: Violating Georgia’s RICO act — an anti-racketeering law — and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath. He denies wrongdoing.

These alleged crimes by Meadows mainly revolve around his participation in the infamous phone call between former President Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early January 2021, when Trump pressured him to “find” enough votes to make him the winner.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday, where a federal judge will weigh Meadows’ arguments about moving the case. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opposes the move, and issued subpoenas to key players who were on the call, to potentially testify at the hearing.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks at a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta in November 2022.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been subpoenaed to testify at a Monday hearing examining former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ efforts to move the Fulton County prosecution against him to federal court, according to court filings.

The subpoena was served to Raffensperger by the Fulton County district attorney’s office.

The subpoena is one of multiple indications that Fulton County prosecutors plan to make former President Donald Trump’s January 2021 call with the election official a focus of a Monday court hearing on efforts to get the Fulton County district attorney’s charges against thrown out.

Meadows was on the call — in which Trump urged Raffensperger to “find” the votes that would reverse his electoral loss in the state – and now faces charges in the Georgia election subversion case, in part, because of his participation in it. 

The hearing relates to Meadows’ bid to move the case to federal court.

A spokesperson for Raffensperger’s office declined to comment on the subpoena.

Earlier this week, District Attorney Fani Willis’ office subpoenaed two other individuals, both lawyers who have been tied to Trump’s election subversion efforts, who were on the call. 

She also has subpoenaed Frances Watson, who was then the chief investigator at the Georgia secretary of state’s office and who was told by Trump in a separate post-election phone call that she would be “praised” if she reversed the 2020 results.

Monday’s hearing, at Atlanta’s federal court, is before US District Judge Steve Jones. The judge is examining the request by Meadows that the Fulton County prosecution moved to federal court. 

Meadows argued that the federal court should dismiss the charges against him because the indictment targeted conduct he was engaged in as an agent of the federal government. 

Willis pushed against that claim in a court filing Wednesday, saying the Raffensperger call, along with other episodes involving Meadows in the charging documents, were examples of political activity that fell outside his government duties as a White House official. 

The dispute is also a preview of how Willis’ office might respond if Trump launches a similar maneuver to push the case to federal court, as the former president is expected to do.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks to the media in Atlanta on August 14 after a grand jury brought back indictments against former President Donald Trump.

Law enforcement officers are on high alert at the Fulton County government complex where the district attorney’s offices are located, multiple sources tell CNN, as former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender to be processed at the county jail Thursday. 

Officers with the Fulton County Sheriff’s department have been monitoring for protests at the county courthouse and jail, where several of the 18 defendants charged with Trump on counts related to the 2020 election subversion plot have already surrendered this week. 

Multiple law enforcement officers have been posted outside offices used by prosecutors for District Attorney Fani Willis to negotiate bond agreements for the defendants — including Trump— an increased level of security than previously seen.

As CNN previously reported, Willis has been assigned additional security protection near her Georgia residence in recent weeks amid threats to her and her office. Barriers including bike racks were placed outside the courthouse and government complex in recent weeks and are expected to remain in place until Saturday – after the deadline Willis gave to the defendants to turn themselves in. 

Atlanta’s FBI office said last week that the FBI is aware some Fulton County officials have received threats of violence. 

Meanwhile, several Atlanta area law enforcement agencies with SWAT teams will be a part of the joint security operations surrounding the Fulton County jail ahead of Trump’s arrival, according to a source with knowledge of the plans.

The teams are now expected to deploy earlier than anticipated due to the growing crowd of people outside the jail — some rallying in support of Trump, and others in opposition him.

At least three of the specialized law enforcement teams are now expected to be in place before 5 p.m. ET Thursday.

CNN’s Ryan Young and Jared Formanek contributed reporting to this post.

Supporters of former President Donald Trump hold banners at the entrance of the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday.

There has been a noticeable increase in Fulton County Sheriff’s deputies as well as members of the public outside the Fulton County Jail in advance of former President Donald Trump’s surrender on charges related to the alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 Presidential election.

Deputies and patrol cars lined the jail’s Rice Street entrance Thursday morning. Dozens of people gathered outside the entrance in hot Georgia temperatures largely in support of Trump but some appearing to be in favor of his arrest. People could be seen carrying large flags with pro-Trump statements.

Bike fencing and Jersey barriers are being placed in effort to keep both the public and media back from the entrance. 

Authorities put up barricades outside of the Fulton County Jail on Thursday.

Supporters of former President Donald Trump sit near the entrance of the Fulton County Jail on Thursday.

A demonstrator holds anti-Trump banners in front of a supporter of former President Donald Trump near the entrance of the Fulton County Jail on Thursday.

Rep. Jim Jordan speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill on July 12.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan sent Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis a letter requesting a slew of documents by September 7, confirming CNN’s exclusive reporting that the panel was opening an investigation into Willis.

In the letter, Jordan lays out why he believes his panel has jurisdiction over Willis’ probe and accuses Willis of being politically motivated.

“Your indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated,” Jordan writes.

Mark Meadows, left, and Jeffrey Clark.

Eight prominent conservative former governors, GOP administration lawyers and a judge have told a court they don’t believe Mark Meadows nor Jeffrey Clark should be protected from charges in Fulton County, Georgia, because of their roles in the Trump administration after the 2020 election.

The argument, filed as a third-party brief in proceedings where Clark and Meadows seek to move the Georgia state charges to federal court, musters support for keeping the entire case in state court. 

A judge is set to consider arguments from Meadows and potentially Clark on Monday on moving the case, after both have asked to do so. A federal proceeding rather than state proceeding would use different rules in court, expand the possible jury pool to a wider, more politically diverse group than Atlanta alone, and potentially enable a Trump-appointed judge to oversee the case. 

Meadows and Clark have argued they were acting after the 2020 election in their official capacities as Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff and as a Justice Department appointee, respectively, prompting them to now seek a federal court’s intervention as they fight their charges. 

Neither have been arrested nor entered initial pleadings at this time.

The Republicans argue Clark and Meadows’ efforts after the election went outside of their official duties because the federal government has no role in choosing a state’s electoral college voters.

“The conduct charged here by the Fulton County District Attorney— interference by Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Clark with the 2020 presidential election in Georgia in order to aid Donald Trump’s candidacy—bore no connection to any duty of Mr. Meadows’s, Mr. Clark’s, or Mr. Trump’s office. Neither the president nor anyone else in the executive branch has any duty to superintend or participate in a State’s selection of its presidential electors. And there is no plausible basis for Mr. Meadows or Mr. Clark to claim Supremacy Clause immunity, protection under the First or Fourteenth Amendment, or any other federal defense to the charges,” the group of Republicans wrote to the court this week.

The conservative group who made the filing include former federal appellate Judge Michael Luttig, former Republicans governors of Massachusetts and New Jersey William Weld and John Farmer Jr., former acting US Attorney General Stuart Gerson, and other top officials from the Reagan and George H.W. Bush presidential administrations.

The district attorney’s office in Fulton County has opposed moving the case as well, arguing Meadows was taking part in political activity on behalf of Trump, especially in facilitating Trump’s call to the Georgia secretary of state where Trump asked to “find” votes.

The former Republican officials said the same, about Clark. 

Trump could ask for similar protection as president but has not formally asked the court to consider moving his case at this time.

An audio recording of former President Donald Trump talking to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is played during a hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol in October 2022.

Georgia prosecutors allege that former President Donald Trump and his allies broke state laws during about a dozen separate incidents after the 2020 election, according to the indictment made public last Monday.

There are 41 overall charges in the case, which was brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The first charge involves Georgia’s anti-racketeering law known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. But the next 40 non-racketeering charges stem from roughly a dozen key incidents after the 2020 election. 

The events, and the crimes the Trump group allegedly committed, break down this way:

Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis.

Three of Donald Trump’s key election lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, surrendered Wednesday on charges in the Georgia election subversion case.

The scene of Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and a notable former federal prosecutor, walking into the Fulton County jail is another amazing moment in the ongoing investigation into Trump and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

One of Trump’s most outspoken attorneys in 2020, Giuliani was charged with 13 crimes, including breaking the state’s racketeering act, engaging in various criminal conspiracies, and soliciting a public officer in the state to violate their oath.

Powell, meanwhile, faces seven state crimes, including violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, conspiracy to commit election fraud, conspiracy to commit computer theft, and more, and Ellis was charged with two state crimes: violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath.

Giuliani agreed to a $150,000 bond package after flying to Atlanta earlier Wednesday. Powell agreed to $100,000 bond, while Ellis reached a $100,000 bail agreement.

The three are among the figures in the alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia to turn themselves in Wednesday. Kenneth Chesebro, the architect of the Trump campaign’s fake electors plot, also surrendered.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has charged Trump and 18 others of participating in schemes to meddle with Georgia’s election results. All 19 co-defendants are expected to surrender ahead of a Friday deadline set by Willis when she unveiled last week’s sweeping indictment over attempts to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

Mark Meadows walks along the South Lawn of the White House in October 2020.

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected efforts by former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and ex-Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark to avoid arrest if they fail to turn themselves in by Friday’s deadline in the Georgia election subversion case.

US District Judge Steve Jones declined the emergency requests by Meadows and Clark, who are both trying to move Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ prosecution to federal court.

Meadows argued he should be allowed to avoid processing in the Fulton County election subversion case that has been brought against former President Donald Trump and 18 others ahead of a hearing scheduled Monday.

“(T)he clear statutory language for removing a criminal prosecution, does not support an injunction or temporary stay prohibiting District Attorney Willis’s enforcement or execution of the arrest warrant against Meadows,” Jones wrote.

In a separate order, Jones turned down Clark’s emergency request, which was more sweeping and argued that the entirety of the state court proceedings – including any attempt to arrest any of the 19 defendants who did not turn themselves in this week – should automatically be put on hold.

Willis told the federal court in court filings earlier Wednesday that it should not interfere in any efforts to arrest Meadows, calling his request for the court’s intervention “improper” and “baseless.”

Jeffrey Clark attends a January 6th field hearing held by Rep Matt Gaetz in the US Capitol in June 2023.

“It should be noted the defendant’s former boss, the former president of the United States, voluntarily agreed to surrender himself to state authorities, while other defendants have already surrendered,” Willis’ office said.

She made similar arguments in a filing submitted Wednesday afternoon in response to the request by Clark.

“Defendant Clark boldly asks this court for expeditious action when he himself has shown no urgency,” Willis wrote, noting that Clark had waited a week after the indictment was handed up to turn to the federal court in Atlanta for relief.

“The defendant seeks to avoid the inconvenience and unpleasantness of being arrested or subject to the mandatory state criminal process, but provides this court no legal basis to justify those ends,” Willis said in her filing in the Clark case.

“The hardship facing the defendant is no different than any other criminal defendant charged with a crime, including his co-defendants who have either already surrendered to Fulton County Authorities or have agreed to so surrender in the time allotted by the district attorney,” Willis’ office said of Meadows’ request to avoid being processed.

Top row, left to right: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeffrey Clark, Jenna Ellis,Middle row, left to right: Ray Smith, Robert Cheeley, Mike Roman, David Shafer, Shawn Still, Harrison Floyd,Bottom row, left to right: Trevian Kutti, Sidney Powell, Cathy Latham, Scott Hall, Misty Hampton, Stephen LeeCenter: Former President Donald Trump

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.

They defendants have until noon ET Friday to voluntarily surrender to authorities, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said last week.

Here are the 19 people charged in the Georgia case, according to the indictment:

Read more here.

Drew Findling poses for a photo in Atlanta in February.

Former President Donald Trump has replaced his top Georgia lawyer ahead of his surrender Thursday evening, sources tell CNN.

Drew Findling, the lawyer who has led Trump’s defense in Georgia, is being replaced by Steven Sadow, an Atlanta-based attorney whose website profile describes him as a “special counsel for white collar and high profile defense.”

Sadow confirmed this appointment in a statement, and said the former President “should never have been indicted.”

A Trump source indicated that this was not about Findling’s performance while another familiar with Sadow called him the “best criminal defense attorney in Georgia.”

In 2021, Sadow criticized RICO charges as a way for prosecutors to introduce evidence that would otherwise not be admissible during an interview about the potential charges Trump faced in Georgia.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives for a press conference at the Fulton County Government Center in Atlanta on August 14.

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee is expected to open a congressional investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as soon as Thursday, a source tells CNN – the same day former President Donald Trump is slated to surrender at the county jail after being charged for participating in schemes to meddle with Georgia’s 2020 election results.

The committee is expected to ask Willis whether she was coordinating with the Justice Department, which has indicted Trump twice in two separate cases, or used federal dollars to complete her investigation that culminated in the fourth indictment of Trump, the source added. The anticipated questions from Republicans about whether Willis used federal funding in her state-level investigation mirrors the same line of inquiry that Republicans used to probe Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Trump in New York for falsifying business records to cover up an alleged hush money scheme.

Meanwhile, Georgia Republicans could launch their own state-level investigation into Willis’ probe, according to GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has spoken to top officials in the state about a potential probe. She has also been pushing for a congressional-led inquiry into Willis, who has previously dismissed GOP accusations accusing her of being partisan and consistently defended her investigation.

“I’m going to be talking to (House Judiciary Chair) Jim Jordan, (House Oversight Chair) Jamie Comer, and I’d like to also ask (Speaker) Kevin McCarthy his thoughts on looking at doing an investigation if there is a collaboration or conspiracy of any kind between the Department of Justice and Jack Smith’s special counsel’s office with the state DA’s,” Greene told CNN. “So, I think that could be a place of oversight.”

Read more about the anticipated House committee investigation into Willis.

The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta is seen on Wednesday.

Former President Donald Trump will surrender on Thursday to be booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results, the fourth time this year the former president has faced criminal charges.

Trump is expected to travel from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club to Atlanta to turn himself in at the notorious Fulton County jail.

Like several of his 18 co-defendants who have already surrendered at the jail, Trump’s processing through the facility will likely be completed quickly because the former president and his lawyers negotiated his consent bond agreement ahead of Thursday. Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions, including not using social media to target the co-defendants and witnesses in the case.

Trump’s surrender in Georgia marks the fourth time this year the former president has turned himself in to local or federal officials after criminal charges were brought against him – episodes that had never been seen in the US before 2023.

In April, the former president was booked in New York on state charges related to a hush money scheme. In June, he surrendered at a Miami federal courthouse to face charges in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into the mishandling of classified documents. And earlier this month, Trump was placed under arrest in Washington, DC, and arraigned on charges brought by Smith in his investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the sprawling racketeering case last week following a yearslong investigation, has asked for Trump and the other 18 defendants to be arraigned next month. Defendants have until noon on Friday to surrender.

Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 7.

The Fulton County election subversion case marks the first time release conditions for former President Donald Trump have included a cash bond and a prohibition on intimidation through social media. 

The criminal case is the fourth brought against the former president this year.

In the previous cases, the conditions for Trump’s release after arrest and pending trial have been largely routine:

Former President Donald Trump pauses for cheers from the crowd before speaking as the keynote speaker at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party on August 5, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina.

Former President Donald Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions after his lawyers met with the Fulton County district attorney’s office on Monday, according to court documents reviewed by CNN. 

The release conditions outlined in Trump’s bond order are more extensive than those laid out in the other bond orders approved earlier. 

Unlike some of his co-defendants, the former president is barred from using social media to target his 18 co-defendants in the case, as well as any witnesses or the 30 unindicted co-conspirators. 

The order also prohibits Trump from communicating “directly or indirectly” about the case with any of his co-defendants or witnesses in the case, except through his attorneys. A similar provision has been included in bond orders for some of his co-defendants.

The order is also signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and three Trump attorneys: Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg and Jennifer Little.