ATLANTA — Several of the defendants in the Georgia election investigation have negotiated their bonds with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office – including former President Donald Trump.
Channel 2 Action News was outside the courthouse Monday when Trump’s attorneys, Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg and Jennifer Little, arrived.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne was inside the building and saw them actually walk into DA’s office – and moments later we learned Trump will have to pay a $200,000 bond upon his arraignment.
Consent orders were also set for defendants John Eastman, Ray Smith, Kenneth Chesebro and Scott Hall.
Winne spoke to attorneys for some of those defendants Monday afternoon.
“What just happened up in the DA’s office?” Winne asked Scott Grubman, attorney for Chesebro.
“We negotiated a bond for Mr. Chesebro? Grubman said.
“Of $100,000?” Winne asked Grubman.
“$100,000. Now keep in mind that doesn’t necessarily mean the person has to give $100,000. Its’s cash property surety.
“How fast was the process?” Winne asked Grubman.
“I would say, what, 30 minutes? cutting out some of the back and forth,” Grubman said.
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“What’s his (Chesebro’s) response to the allegations against him in the indictment?” Winne asked Grubman.
“We plan on entering a not guilty plea and proceeding as quickly as we can to trial so we can clear his name,” Grubman said.
“How many attorneys did you meet with from the DA’s office?” Winne asked attorney Manny Arora.
“Several. Didn’t need to be that many but it’s all fine, it’s all worked out. We should have this handled before Friday,” Arora said.
“Having the pre-agreed upon bond means that your client and other similarly situated will not have to spend any time in jail other than the time it takes to process them?” Winne asked Grubman.
“Right. Typically, the reason the folks are in jail for so long if they’re going to get bond, is just waiting to get that bond hearing with the magistrate judge at the jail and this kind of eliminates that necessity,” Grubman said. “The sheriff, who has actually been very gracious and has agreed to work with all defendants professionally, I have nothing but respect for him and his staff.”
Channel 2′s Richard Elliot was inside the state subcommittee hearing weeks after the 2020 election when Ray Smith made false claims about the election.
“My name is Ray Smith. I am honored to be lead counsel in Georgia for Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States,” Smith said upon his introduction, saying he’d been hired by Trump to be his local attorney of record.
Now it seems Smith has attorneys -- defense attorney Bruce H. Morris, and attorneys Don Samuel and Amanda Clark Palmer – and were offered a $50,000 bond by prosecutors for Smith and they accepted.
They said Smith will enter a not-guilty plea.
Part of his bond conditions include:
“The defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.
“This shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
“a. The Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against any codefendant;
“b. The Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against any witness including, but not limited to, the individuals designated in the Indictment as an unindicated co-conspirators Individual 1 through Individual 30;
“c. The Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against any victim;
d. “The Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community;
“e. The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.”
Earlier in the day, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set bond for John Eastman at $100,000 and Scott Graham Hall at $10,000.
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