In the ongoing racketeering case against former President Donald J. Trump and his allies, bond for Rudy Giuliani has been set at $150,000. Giuliani, who served as Trump’s personal lawyer and played a key role in spreading false claims about the 2020 election, plans to turn himself in at the Atlanta jail where the defendants are being booked. The trial for all 19 people indicted in the case may have to start no later than November 3 if a motion seeking a speedy trial, filed by lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, is granted.
The bond for Trump, who is set to turn himself in on Thursday, has been set at $200,000. Giuliani’s lawyers plan to negotiate his bond with the district attorney’s office, expecting it to be similar to Trump’s. Similarly, Sidney Powell, another defendant who advised Trump on fighting his election loss, has had her bond set at $100,000. This case against Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor known for his work on racketeering cases, has ironic implications as he now faces a racketeering charge himself, which he criticized as a “ridiculous application of the racketeering statute.”
Several of the defendants, including Chesebro, have already been fingerprinted and had mug shots taken at the Fulton County jail. Among them are the architects of the plan to use fake electors to keep Trump in power after the election loss. Trump himself has expressed defiance about his upcoming arrest, while Giuliani has struggled financially with mounting legal expenses. However, Trump plans to host a fundraiser to aid Giuliani in covering his legal costs. Chesebro’s motion for a speedy trial has added a twist to the case, with the timing of the trial remaining uncertain due to other defendants seeking to move the trial to federal court or sever their case from the others. Three defendants, including Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Clark, have also filed to remove the case to federal court and have sought to block their arrest.