Trump plans to turn himself in on Thursday over Georgia indictment

WASHINGTON — Former US President Donald Trump plans to surrender on Thursday (Aug 24) in Atlanta in connection with his indictment in Georgia on charges he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, he said on social media on Monday.

"I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED," Trump, who is running for reelection in 2024, said on his Truth Social platform. He described the indictment as a politically motivated effort to derail his reelection campaign.

CNN earlier reported that Trump planned to turn himself in at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta on Thursday. The date was set during negotiations between Trump's lawyers and the Fulton County district attorney's office on Monday over Trump's consent bond and release conditions, according to CNN.

In a 98-page Georgia indictment revealed last week, Trump and 18 other defendants were charged with a total of 41 criminal counts in connection with efforts to reverse his defeat in the state's 2020 election.

John Eastman, Trump's former personal lawyer who has also been indicted in the Georgia case, plans to surrender to Fulton County authorities on Wednesday, a court filing showed on Monday. Eastman had reached a US$100,000 (S$135,548) bond agreement with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis earlier on Monday.

The Georgia case marked Trump's fourth indictment. He faces a New York state trial in March involving a hush money payment to a porn star and a federal trial in May in Florida for allegedly mishandling federal classified documents.

Another indictment, in Washington federal court, accuses him of illegally seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat. US Special Counsel Jack Smith has requested a January trial, but a date has not yet been set.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in all criminal cases and could spend much of next year in court, even as he campaigns to retake the White House.

In Georgia, the former president will face a US$200,000 bond and orders not to send threatening social media messages as the he awaits trial, according to a bond agreement on Monday signed by Trump's attorneys and the Fulton Country district attorney. Security will be tightened around the jail when Trump surrenders, the local sheriff's office said.

Trump has repeatedly asserted without evidence that indictments against him are "witch hunts." He has regularly attacked Willis online and called her "radical left" and "corrupt."

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and his co-defendants were indicted on Aug 14. Willis gave them until Friday at noon ET (1600 GMT) to surrender or face arrest.

Prosecutors in the case have proposed that the trial start on March 4, while Trump's lawyers have asked for a 2026 trial.

Trump's surrender on Thursday will come a day after the first Republican primary presidential debate that the former president does not plan to attend.

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