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Biden jokes Trump is ‘handsome guy’ after being asked about mugshot; Harrison Floyd denied bail – as it happened | Donald Trump | The GuardianSkip to main contentSkip to navigation
More of the defendants indicted in Georgia on charges related to attempting to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in the state want their cases moved to federal court, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
New: Fulton defendant Cathy Latham files for federal removal. That means all three of the GOP electors (her, Shawn Still and David Shafer) have sought to remove the case pic.twitter.com/CSz93tq4nv
The tally of defendants who have sought federal removal is now five, by my count (three electors + Meadows + Clark). We're expecting Trump and others will do the same in the days ahead
State criminal prosecutions can be removed to federal court under a federal statute that allows for such a change of venue if the case involves federal officials and pertains to actions taken “under color” of their office. The term refers to things done in an official capacity or as part of official duties.
Last month, a federal judge rejected Mr. Trump’s efforts to have another state criminal case against him removed to federal court. That case, in New York, centers on Mr. Trump’s role in hush-money payments to an actress in pornographic films. In his order, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein wrote: “Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president’s official acts.”
If the motions for removal of the Georgia case are successful, the defendants would probably then argue in federal court that they should not be charged for state crimes, and would base that argument on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says that federal laws generally take precedence over state laws.
…
Removal to federal court would broaden the jury pool for a potential trial. Instead of drawing jurors just from Fulton County, where 26 percent of voters chose Mr. Trump in the 2020 election, they would be drawn from a 10-county region that includes Fulton along with more suburban and exurban counties where Mr. Trump won just under 34 percent of the vote.
A number of legal experts say that moving the Georgia case to federal court would not allow Mr. Trump to pardon himself, if re-elected, after a conviction in the case. The Constitution grants presidents the power to pardon “offenses against the United States,” but the crimes charged in the Georgia case, wherever they are tried, are offenses against the state of Georgia, said Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law expert at Georgia State University.
No hearing today for only jailed Trump co-defendant
The only Donald Trump co-defendant to actually be jailed in Fulton county is Harrison Floyd, who did not come to a bond agreement before turning himself in this week.
An associate of the Black Voices for Trump group, Floyd is accused of illegally influencing a witness and conspiring to commit false statements. Earlier today, it appeared that a judge would hold a hearing into his case, but that turned out not to be the case, according to Atlanta broadcaster 11Alive and the Washington Post:
He was on calendars for both courts this morning. Both said they were erroneous entries. We've thought it's been referred to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is handling the case.
I am at home sick, so I don't have much else beyond that at this point. 🤷♂️
Judge Scott McAfee told reporters in his courtroom a little while ago that there was "misinformation" on the docket, and Floyd would not be appearing before him today https://t.co/GbCh4O3aIi
Donald Trump and most of his co-defendants paid brief visits to the Fulton county jail to be processed before leaving on bond. But as the Guardian’s Jewel Wicker reports, extended stays in the Atlanta facility can have deadly consequences:
Millions of people around the world watched on Thursday as former president Donald Trump surrendered to the Fulton County jail, and then promptly left the building on $200,000 bond. Local activists and attorneys say it’s a starkly different experience from what the more than 1,500 inmates who are booked into the facility each month typically face in the overcrowded jail, which has been the subject of ongoing reports of horrific conditions and has seen a spate of recent deaths.
Along with 18 co-defendants, Trump was indicted last week on racketeering charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the Georgia presidential election results in 2020.
The local and national media have been camping outside the Fulton county jail – often called the Rice Street jail in reference to the street on which it is located – all week in anticipation of Trump and his allies voluntarily surrendering there, coinciding with a time of increased security for the jail and sheriff’s office.
In July, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into the conditions of the jail, citing a number of reports that allege “an incarcerated person died covered in insects and filth, that the Fulton County Jail is structurally unsafe, that prevalent violence has resulted in serious injuries and homicides, and that officers are being prosecuted for using excessive force”.
Donald Trump is now facing four separate criminal cases: one brought in New York by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg; another in Georgia by the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, and two federal indictments brought by the special counsel Jack Smith.
Trump is also running for president, and it seems likely he will spend the next 15 months alternating between courtrooms and the campaign trail. Here’s a graphic illustrating what we know about the dueling schedules so far:
Ex-justice department official Jeffrey Clark's mugshot released
In the final days of his presidential term, Donald Trump tried to appoint the justice department official Jeffrey Clark acting attorney general as part of a plan to disrupt the electoral vote process in swing states that voted for Joe Biden. He was thwarted by a revolt among senior justice department staff, and Clark was earlier this month indicted in Georgia for his role in the plot.
Clark turned himself at the Fulton county jail overnight, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has his mugshot:
Two of the last co-defendants who were indicted in Georgia along with Donald Trump for attempting to overturn Joe Biden’s election win in the state three years ago surrendered to authorities today.
According to Fulton county jail records, Chicago-based publicist Trevian Kutti turned herself in after being charged with threatening election worker Ruby Freeman. Also surrendering today was Stephen Lee, a longtime police chaplain in Georgia who traveled to Freeman’s home and identified himself as a pastor trying to help.
Here’s a rundown of all the 19 defendants named in Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis’s sprawling indictment, which is centered on the Trump campaign’s attempt to prevent Biden from winning Georgia’s electoral votes weeks after the ballots had been counted:
A social media post viewed nearly 6m times of what appears to be Donald Trump fans wildly celebrating in a bar as the mugshot of the former president is broadcast on a large screen, appears to be a well-crafted hoax.
The Lincoln Project, a political action committee founded by disenchanted Republicans, shared the video on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, but Newsweek claims: “the footage is actually of England soccer fans ... and has been widely edited as a meme.”
The Lincoln Project post doesn’t say where the video was sourced, just the words “TRUMP MUGSHOT JUST DROPPED”. Since posting the video 12 hours ago, the Lincoln Project has defiantly reposted the footage twice more.
Ahead of the surrender, Donald Trump shook up his legal team and retained the top Georgia attorney Steven Sadow, who filed a notice of appearance with the Fulton county superior court as lead counsel, replacing Drew Findling. Trump’s other lawyer in the case, Jennifer Little, is staying on.
The reason for the abrupt recalibration was unclear, and Trump’s aides suggested it was unrelated to performance. Still, Trump has a record of firing lawyers who represented him during criminal investigations but were unable to stave off charges.
Findling was also unable to exempt Trump from having his mugshot taken, according to people familiar with the matter – something that personally irritated Trump, even though the Fulton county sheriff’s office had always indicated they were uninterested in making such an accommodation. His mugshot was not taken in his other criminal cases.
Trump opposes October trial start in Georgia election case
In a clear sign of her belief that her team is ready to go to trial immediately, Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis on Thursday asked for the trial of all 19 defendants to start on 23 October. This developed after one of the co-defendants requested a speedy trial and was given that ultra-fast date, approved by the judge in the case.
Trump’s legal team filed a motion opposing such a quick trial date within hours, underscoring the former president’s overarching strategy to delay proceedings as much as possible – potentially until after the 2024 presidential election.
Willis’ request to schedule the trial of Trump and his 18 co-defendants to begin in October came after one of the co-defendants, Trump’s former lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, apparently gambled and requested a speedy trial.
In a court filing, the Trump attorney Steve Sadow notified a judge that Trump will soon file a motion to sever his case from Chesebro – indicating the diverging interests of the people ensnared in the indictment.
Sadow also said Trump will seek to sever his case from “any other co-defendant who makes a similar request” for a quick trial. He wrote:
President Trump further respectfully puts the Court on notice that he requests the Court set a scheduling conference at its earliest convenience so he can be heard on the State’s motions for entry of pretrial scheduling order and to specially set trial
