John Eastman is second defendant to surrender in Georgia election interference case

Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on August 22, 2023

(ATLANTA) — Attorney John Eastman and co-defendant Scott Hall, two of the 18 co-defendants charged in the Georgia election interference case alongside former President Donald Trump, have been booked at the Fulton County Jail, according to the Fulton County Inmate Record Database.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Monday set bond for Eastman at $100,000, and for Hall at $10,000. Neither of them have been released yet, according to the inmate database.

Eastman is charged with nine counts, including two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree. The indictment names him as among those allegedly involved in a scheme to solicit public officers to unlawfully appoint Georgia presidential electors.

“He is going to trial, there will be no plea deal,” Eastman’s attorney told ABC News.

Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman, is charged with seven counts, including two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud. He is among those accused of conspiring to commit election fraud in Coffee County.

All 19 defendants in the case are also charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO.

Trump and 18 others were charged last week by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. The former president says his actions were not illegal and that the investigation is politically motivated.

Trump and the other defendants have until Friday to voluntarily surrender to authorities in Atlanta.

Trump wrote on his social media platform Monday night that he intends to surrender in Georgia on Thursday, after Judge McAfee set the former president’s bond at $200,000 on Monday.

Trump himself is facing 13 counts in the indictment, including three counts of solicitation of violation of oath by public officer, after he asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call, to “find him” enough votes to win the state.

Co-defendant Jeffrey Clark, a former Department of Justice official charged in the case, filed a motion in federal court Tuesday seeking an emergency stay of the Fulton County proceedings, including his arrest warrant, until after Labor Day, so a judge could rule on his motion to remove his case to federal court.

Clark filed a separate motion to remove his case to federal court on the basis that he was serving as a high-ranking DOJ official during the timeframe alleged in the indictment.

Earlier Tuesday, co-defendant David Shafer, the former Georgia GOP chair, filed his own notice of removal to federal court, following a similar motion filed last week by former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Shafer, one of Trump’s so-called “false electors,” argues in his filing that “as a contingent Presidential Elector, Mr. Shafer was an officer of the United States.”

The filing claims Shafer was charged for conduct that “stems directly from his service as a Presidential Elector nominee” and that he was working “at the direction of the President and other federal officers.”

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso and Mark Osborne contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.