Closing summary
Donald Trump’s co-defendants reported to the Fulton county jail in Georgia after being indicted last week by district attorney Fani Willis on charges related to their roles in trying to overturn the 2020 election. Among them was Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and presidential candidate who advised Trump during his presidency, and Sidney Powell, another attorney for the ex-president. Authorities in Georgia released mugshots of all the defendants who have surrendered thus far, including Giuliani and Powell, both of whom were released. Separately, a federal judge turned down an attempt by defendants Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, and Jeff Clark, an ex-justice department official friendly to his false claims about his election defeat, to avoid their arrest in Fulton county. Both now have until Friday to report to jail.
This blog is about to close, but the blogging is far from finished. We are launching a separate blog dedicated to covering this evening’s Republican presidential debate, as well as Trump’s interview with Tucker Carlson. Follow along at the link here:
Donald Trump’s defense attorneys may be breathing a sigh of relief after the former president opted to skip the first debate of the Republican primaries. Why? The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell has the answer:
Donald Trump’s decision to spurn the Republican primary debate on Wednesday in favor of a pretaped interview with Tucker Carlson solves the political question of how to inflict damage on the 2024 field, but it also eliminates concerns his remarks in the high-profile event could increase his legal exposure.
The former president confirmed over the weekend that he would not attend the debate in Milwaukee, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform: “New CBS poll, just out, has me leading the field by ‘legendary’ numbers … I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES.”
Instead, Trump has settled on counter-programming the debate by having the interview he recorded with the former Fox News host air at the same time, with the aim of starving the other Republican presidential candidates of attention and publicly humiliating Fox News, which is hosting the debate with the Republican National Committee.
The move to upstage the debate tackles Trump’s political goals for his 2024 campaign, but it also quietly eliminates worries that Trump could deepen his legal jeopardy were he to be questioned about his four criminal cases by debate moderators or the other candidates.
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