As of Wednesday night, nine defendants in the Georgia election meddling case have surrendered to Fulton County Jail.
The group includes several of Donald Trump’s key election lawyers and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. All are charged with violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and one or more additional crimes, varying by person.
Trump himself is expected to surrender for booking at the jail Thursday in his fourth criminal indictment this year. Mere hours before his surrender, he replaced Drew Findling – his previous head lawyer in the case – with Atlanta criminal defense attorney Steve Sadow.
Sadow previously represented Atlanta rapper Gunna, who pleaded guilty to racketeering charges brought by the same prosecutor charging Trump and allies.
The remaining defendants must surrender by noon on Friday. Defendant and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows requested an extension to his deadline but was denied by a federal judge.
The Nine Surrenders:
Rudy Giuliani was one of Trump’s most high-profile lawyers and confidants in 2020, who notoriously promoted conspiracy theories about election fraud and spoke in favor of Pence nullifying Biden’s victory on Jan. 6. He is charged with 13 crimes, including three counts of false statements and writings, three counts of soliciting a public officer to break their oath and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree forgery.
John Eastman is a right-wing attorney accused of devising a six-step plan to overturn Biden’s victory in 2020 during the certification on Jan. 6. He is charged with 9 crimes, including filing false documents and conspiracy to commit first-degree forgery.
David Shafer is a former Georgia GOP chair and state senator, who helped to organize the state’s 16 fake electors and served as one himself. He is charged with 8 crimes, including impersonation of a public officer and attempting to file false documents.
Sidney Powell was one of Trump’s campaign lawyers who filed lawsuits around the country in an attempt to overturn election results and was allegedly in contact with Trump supporters who broke into Coffee County voting systems. She is charged with 7 crimes, including conspiracy to commit election fraud (two counts) and various computer crimes.
Former Trump campaign lawyers Ray Smith and Jenna Ellis, election lawyer Kenneth Cheesebro, former Coffee County Republican Party Chair Cathy Latham, and bail bondsman Scott Hall have also turned themselves in for booking at Fulton County.
(Photo courtesy of Kate Brumback | AP)
