Former US president Donald Trump has been given a deadline to pay a $200,000 bond in order to avoid jail time in Georgia. Court documents, released by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis on Monday, state that the bond must be posted by noon on Friday.
The documents outline an $80,000 bond for Trump’s alleged violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act, along with $10,000 for each of the 12 other counts. It appears that the remaining 28 charges against the former president do not require bail.
Last week, Willis made headlines by charging Trump and 18 of his associates with 41 counts of racketeering, conspiracy, and making false statements. The charges claim that they worked to unlawfully change the outcome of the 2020 election. Willis, a Democrat, alleges that Trump and his aides were fully aware that Joe Biden had legitimately won the election.
Among those indicted alongside Trump are his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and a number of current and former lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City.
CNN has reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, that Trump is expected to turn himself in by Friday. Fulton County includes a significant portion of Atlanta, where CNN has its headquarters.
These local charges in Georgia mark the fourth criminal case filed against Trump this year. He also faces charges in New York for allegedly paying hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. Additionally, there are two federal cases led by special counsel Jack Smith. The first involves allegations of unlawfully retaining classified documents after leaving the White House, while the second relates to the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol.
Despite facing multiple legal challenges, Trump continues to assert that there were irregularities in the 2020 election, which Biden officially won with the most votes ever in US history. Notably, Biden’s victory margin in the electoral college matches the margin by which Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016.
As the deadline approaches for Trump to post the bond, the outcome remains uncertain. The decision will have significant implications for the former president’s legal battles, and it could potentially lead to his arrest if he fails to meet the requirements.
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