Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who served during the Trump administration, had his bond set at $100,000 on Thursday in connection with the criminal case in Georgia involving former President Donald Trump and his allies’ alleged efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. Meadows’ co-defendant Jeffrey Clark, a pro-Trump former Department of Justice lawyer, also had his bond set at $100,000.
Meadows has been charged with racketeering and soliciting a violation of an oath by a public officer, while Clark faces the same racketeering charge along with one count of attempting to commit false statements and writings. The bond orders were issued in Fulton County Superior Court just hours before Trump was expected to surrender on his own charges in the same indictment by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
According to court filings, Meadows’ bond sheet includes restrictions such as forbidding him from discussing the case with any other co-defendant or witness, as well as prohibiting any attempts to intimidate witnesses or obstruct the administration of justice. However, records show that Meadows has not yet been booked at the Fulton County jail.
In addition to Meadows and Clark, Trump is also one of the 19 co-defendants in Willis’ case. Trump’s bond has been set at $200,000, and he is facing charges including racketeering, criminal conspiracy, and filing false documents.
Meadows and Clark were not indicted in a separate federal election interference probe against Trump conducted by special counsel Jack Smith, a case that revolves around many of the same events mentioned in the Georgia indictment.
All 19 co-defendants charged in the Georgia case have until Friday to surrender at the Fulton County jail. Several of them, including lawyers John Eastman and Sidney Powell, as well as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have already been booked and released.
Meadows is attempting to have the case moved from state court to federal court. He recently asked a federal judge to expedite the process before the Friday deadline to avoid arrest, but his request was denied. Meadows also proposed an order to block Willis from arresting him, but that was also rejected. Willis has denied Meadows’ request for an extension of his arrest deadline.
One of Meadow’s charges is related to his involvement in a phone call on January 2, 2021, during which Trump allegedly urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in the state. Willis has subpoenaed Raffensperger to appear at a hearing centered on Meadows’ attempt to move the election case to federal court.
Clark’s charge is related to his efforts to dispute President Biden’s electoral victory. In December 2020, he drafted a document falsely claiming that the Justice Department had identified concerns that may have impacted the election outcome in key states. He then tried to get other DOJ officials to sign off on the memo and send it to officials in Georgia.
Trump, who currently faces indictments in four active criminal cases, has advocated for delaying his trials until after the 2024 presidential election. However, Kenneth Chesebro, another co-defendant in the Georgia case, filed a motion demanding a speedy trial.
On Thursday, Willis requested that the trial begin on October 23, as stated in a court filing.