By Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - Former US President Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants named in a Georgia grand jury’s indictment will be booked at the Fulton County Jail, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
"At this point, based on guidance received from the district attorney’s office and presiding judge, it is expected that all 19 defendants named in the indictment will be booked at the Rice Street Jail," Natalie Ammons, a spokesperson for the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, said in a statement.
"Keep in mind, defendants can turn themselves in at any time. The jail is open 24/7. Also, due to the unprecedented nature of this case, some circumstances may change with little or no warning," the statement added.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Monday that Trump and his co-defendants have until noon on Aug. 25 to surrender to law enforcement. Willis said her office will file paperwork this week in county court asking a judge to approve a trial date within six months and said she will seek to try all 19 individuals together.
Her probe was sparked by a Jan. 2, 2021 call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he urged the senior state official to "find 11,780 votes,” the number he would have needed to win the battleground state in the 2020 presidential election. A recording of the call was later leaked to the press.
The grand jury returned a 41-count indictment late Monday after spending the day hearing testimony from witnesses, including former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, and evaluating evidence from prosecutors.
The sprawling 98-page indictment says Trump and his co-defendants, including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former senior Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, attorneys Sidney Powell and John Eastman, "constituted a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in various related criminal activities."
Trump was charged in Georgia with 13 criminal counts, including violations of the Georgia state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer and conspiracy to commit false statements.
He has now been indicted four times across state and federal courts since he left office. The charges range from hush money payments to an adult film star, efforts to overturn national election results, unlawful retention of classified documents and efforts to prevent investigators from completing their duties.