Georgia election meddling case: Trump expected to surrender next week

Washington: United States former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender himself to the Fulton County jail next week in connection with the efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, CNN reported citing sources.

On Monday, Trump and 18 co-defendants were charged with a plot to subvert the 2020 election results in Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis set the date August 25 as a deadline for his surrender.

Negotiations between Trump’s lawyers and Willis’ prosecutors are expected to continue into next week, ahead of the surrender deadline. The exact timing of Trump’s surrender remains unclear.

Trump’s expected surrender in Georgia comes the same week as the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle. The former president, however, is planning to skip the event and instead sit for an interview with former Fox News Host Tucker Carlson, multiple sources familiar with his plans told CNN on Friday – though he could change his mind, as per CNN.

Trump now faces a total of 91 charges across four criminal cases. His surrender and arraignment in Georgia are expected to look different from those in his previous three criminal cases.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has previously suggested he wants to treat Trump and the others named in the indictment similar to any other defendant. This could mean that they would have mugshots taken and be fingerprinted.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched the investigation into Trump and his associates nearly two years ago, reported New York Post.

After all the 19 people were charged in connection with the efforts to overturn the 2020 election on Monday, Willis told reporters at a late-night press conference that she intended to try all 19 defendants together and that they would be given less than two weeks to turn themselves in.

“I am giving the defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Friday the 25th day of August 2023,” Willis said.

Hoping to move quickly, Willis added that her office will be seeking to take the case to trial “within the next six months.” If approved by a judge, that would make Georgia the first jurisdiction and Willis the first prosecutor to put a former American president on trial, as per New York Post.