- Donald Trump was given a $200,000 bond in his Georgia RICO case.
- It's the first time in four criminal cases that he's required to post cash to secure his return.
Former President Donald Trump was granted a $200,000 bond ahead of his arraignment on his Georgia indictment, according to a Monday court filing.
It's the first time, out of four criminal cases, that he's being required to post bond to secure his court appearances.
The terms of the bond were negotiated between his legal team, led by Atlanta-based attorney Drew Findling, and prosecutors in the Fulton County District Attorney's office. The date for his arraignment hasn't yet been publicly scheduled, but District Attorney Fani Willis has said she expects Trump and his 18 co-defendants to surrender to authorities by August 25.
Willis accused Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorney Rudy Giuliani, and other top aides of operating a racketeering enterprise that sought to illegally overturn the 2020 election results. The indictment, brought under Georgia's RICO statute, also includes a group of fake electors as defendants. Trump was personally charged with 13 different counts.
The RICO charge against Trump carries the highest bond amount, at $80,000. Bond was set at $10,000 for each of the other counts.
The bond order, issued by Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, requires Trump to personally appear in court at the judge's discretion and forbids him from intimidating and making threats against other defendants, potential witnesses, victims, and the local community. The order explicitly states that the order includes "posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media."
McAfee also banned Trump from communicating with co-defendants or witnesses except through his lawyers.
If Trump were to violate any part of the order, he'd have to forfeit the $200,000 and risk being jailed ahead of trial. In Fulton County, defendants typically deposit 10% of the total bond price — or $20,000 in Trump's case — at the time of the arraignment, according to Ronald Carlson, a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law.
Trump has been charged in three other cases this year, none of which include a cash bond. He's pleaded not guilty to all of them.
The first case, brought by the Manhattan district attorney's office, didn't involve any money, in part because of a New York law that eliminated cash bail for most non-violent offenses. Prosecutors in that case accused Trump of breaking business record laws as part of his hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump also didn't have to post any cash for his second indictment, brought by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith, over his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and for allegedly obstructing government officials' efforts to retrieve them. One of his co-defendants, Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, was required to post a $100,000 bond, but didn't have to put any money down. Smith's other case against Trump, over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, also didn't require any cash.
The former president is worth $2.5 billion, according to Forbes, although he has typically used funds from his political action committee, Save America, to pay his legal fees. It is unclear if he's allowed to use the PAC money for the bond.