Trump legal brief: Pence, Meadows undercut Trump documents defense, judge sets $200,000 bond for former president
“Trump legal brief” is a succinct daily update on the criminal cases against the 45th president of the United States.
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Georgia election interference
Key players: Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, lawyer John Eastman
Trump bond set at $200,000
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set the amount of former President Donald Trump’s bail in the Georgia election interference case at $200,000 on Monday, USA Today reported. Trump and 18 others have been charged with multiple crimes stemming from their attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and McAfee affixed a dollar amount to each charge to determine Trump’s bond amount.
Violation of Georgia’s Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the most serious charge, carries a bond of $80,000. Bond for the 12 other charges in the case were set at $10,000 each, bringing the grand total to $200,000.
Trump plans to turn himself in for booking Thursday at the Fulton County Jail, CNN reported.
Trump needs to pay only $20,000 of that amount to remain free on bond, according to the agreement reached by McAfee and Trump’s lawyers. Trump also agreed to refrain from intimidating witnesses in the case, USA Today reported. If he fails to abide by those terms, he could be jailed.
Lawyer Eastman, who was also indicted in the case, has had his bail set at $100,000 in the case.
Why it matters: While Trump’s financial assets all but guarantee his ability to pay a much higher bail amount, the failure to do so would result in Trump being jailed prior to the trial.
Classified documents
Key players: Former Vice President Mike Pence, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows
Pence and Meadows undercut Trump documents defense
Defending the discovery of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home and country club following an Aug. 8, 2020, search conducted by the FBI, Trump has insisted that he “declassified everything” when leaving the White House.
But Pence said in a Sunday interview with ABC News that he had no recollection of Trump ever having done so. “It’s just not something that I ever heard about,” Pence said.
Meadows also told special counsel Jack Smith’s team that he did not recall any such order, ABC News reported Sunday.
Why it matters: If two of the leading figures in the Trump administration concur that they were unaware of a blanket declassification order from their former boss, it will be hard for Trump’s lawyers to make that argument in court.
E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit
Key players: E. Jean Carroll, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan
‘The appeal itself is frivolous’
In a stern rebuke to Trump and his lawyers on Friday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan denied an appeal of his decision to allow a second civil defamation lawsuit brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll to go forward, Reuters reported.
"Mr. Trump has not provided a single reason for the court to find that there is any likelihood that he will succeed on appeal," Kaplan wrote. "This court certifies that the appeal itself is frivolous."
Why it matters: While Trump’s lawyers will be busy defending him in court in the coming year in four criminal cases, civil cases against the former president will also be moving forward. In those, he faces no potential jail time, but as the $5 million awarded to Carroll — which was upheld by a judge in July — shows, they carry potential financial and public relations risks.
Read more:
The New Republic: Mike Pence and Mark Meadows just ruined Trump’s defense in the documents case
CNN: Trump proposes April 2026 trial in federal election subversion case
The Hill: Eastman agrees to $100K bond in Georgia election case
Cover photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, Getty Images (3)
