Sidney Powell has agreed to a $100,000 bond set Wednesday morning in the Fulton County, Georgia, case where she and 18 other co-defendants are accused of violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The case was brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis against former President Donald Trump for his efforts to challenge the Georgia general election results.
Ms. Powell served as an attorney on President Trump’s 2020 campaign and is accused of six conspiracy counts on top of racketeering. She surrendered on Wednesday at the Fulton County jail.
Co-defendant Misty Hampton, a local election official, had her bond set at $10,000 also on Wednesday.
All bond agreements included restrictions on what the defendants can communicate about the case; only their attorneys may communicate with other co-defendants or witnesses.
Conspiracy Charges
Ms. Powell is accused of two counts of “conspiracy to commit election fraud,” one count of “conspiracy to commit computer theft,” one count of “conspiracy to commit computer trespass,” one count of “conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy,” and one count of “conspiracy to defraud the state,” citing her entering into a contract with data forensic firm Sullivan Strickler.
Ms. Powell is also accused of 12 acts of racketeering, which included actions like appearing at press conferences to help President Trump challenge election results and using a Coffee County, Georgia, computer with voter data on it.
Other Bonds Set in Georgia
Bond agreements have also been set with a number of other defendants.In total, President Trump had his set the highest at $200,000, John Eastman at $100,000, Kenneth Chesebro at $100,000, Jenna Ellis at $100,000, David Shafer at $75,000, Cathleen Latham at $75,000, Stephen Lee at $75,000, Ray Smith III at $50,000, Robert Cheeley at $50,000, Michael Roman at $50,000, Shawn Still at $10,000, and Scott Hall at $10,000.
Attorneys Mr. Eastman, Mr. Chesebro, Mr. Smith, alternate electors Ms. Latham and Mr. Shafer, and Georgia bail bondsman Mr. Hall have been booked by the local Fulton County jail and released on bond.
19 Defendants
The 98-page indictment brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charges 19 defendants with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. In total, they are accused of 161 acts of racketeering, and 41 counts total.The defendants are President Trump; attorney Rudy Giuliani; attorney Mr. Eastman; former chief of staff Mr. Meadows; attorney Mr. Chesebro; former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark; attorney Ms. Ellis; attorney Mr. Smith; attorney Mr. Cheeley; attorney Sidney Powell; alternate elector Ms. Latham; alternate elector Mr. Shafer; Illinois pastor Stephen Lee; vice president for the Black Conservative Federation Harrison Floyd; former publicist for Kanye West Trevian Kutti; bail bondsman Mr. Hall; Michael Roman; Shawn Still; and former elections official Misty Hampton.
Americans Divided
According to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, 47 percent of Americans say the charges in Georgia are serious, 16 percent say they are somewhat serious, and a quarter of respondents did not think the charges were serious.The poll also found that 49 percent thought he should have been charged with a crime in Georgia while 32 percent thought he should not have, and 50 percent thought he should suspend his campaign while 33 percent thought he should continue.
The Associated Press worked with NORC Center for Public Affairs Research on a similar poll and found voters were clearly divided on party lines: 85 percent of Democrats thought President Trump’s challenge of the election results in Georgia was illegal, and 57 percent of Republicans thought his actions were not illegal.
Similarly, 80 percent of Democrat respondents said his role in what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, was illegal, while 69 percent of Republicans said they were not illegal.
Ahead of the first Republican National Committee debate, which President Trump will skip to do an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson instead, an Iowa poll put him far ahead of the pack: 66 percent said their mind was made up that President Trump was their first choice candidate.
