Trump co-defendants signing consent bond agreements. But what are they?

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Former President Donald Trump, John Eastman, Scott Hall, Kenneth Chesebro and Ray Smith III all agreed to bond agreements before their surrender to Fulton County authorities.

The five men are among the 19 defendants accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Others indicted include Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

They likely won’t be the only co-defendants in the Georgia election case to make such an agreement, but what is a “consent bond agreement?”

In all of these cases, the RICO charges carry the highest bond.

Eastman’s $100,000 agreement includes a $20,000 bond for the single RICO charge he is facing. Scott Graham Hall, an Atlanta-area bail bondsman, reached an agreement for $10,000, of which $4,000 is for the RICO charge. $80,000 of Donald Trump’s $200,000 bond is for his RICO charge.

Chesebro’s $100,000 bond includes a $20,000 bond on his RICO charge. Smith’s bond agreement of $50,000 includes a $20,000 RICO charge.

READ OUR FULL COVERAGE OF THE INDICTMENT HERE

None of these defendants have turned themselves in yet, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee approved these consent bonds. The defendants have until Friday to turn themselves in.

The defendants in the case have incentives for each of them to have a bond agreement in place before surrendering at the Fulton County jail. Without a bond already in place, they could be held in custody for a longer time.

Here’s how the consent bond works: Defense attorneys tell the state why they believe the defendant is eligible for bond. Factors include the type of charges, whether the defendant is a flight risk and whether they’d intimidate any person or talk to any co-defendants. If the judge decides in favor bond, the state and the defendant enter into terms of agreement which the judge must approve.

Defendants can put up property as collateral or pay 10% in cash.

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