This article has been updated to include a TruthSocial post from Trump posted after publication.
On Monday, Fulton County set the total bond for former and potentially future President Donald Trump at $200,000 for the charges against him relating to the 2020 election results in Georgia. All the headlines are discussing the dollar amount, and "$200,000 in Fulton County" is trending on Twitter. There's more to it, though.
Breaking: Former President Donald Trump's bond set for $200,000 in Fulton County pic.twitter.com/08UQjqKo5l
— Tamar Hallerman (@TamarHallerman) August 21, 2023
The order, signed by Fulton County DA Fani Willis, also details how Trump cannot do anything "to intimidate any person known to him... to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice." This in part involves how Trump can't make any "direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community." Included, but not limited to, are "posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media."
Further, the order also notes that Trump "shall not communicate in any way, directly or indirectly, about the facts of this case with any person known to him to be a codefendant in this case except through his... counsel."
Under the terms of the consent bond order, Trump can't perform any acts of witness intimidation or communicate directly or indirectly about the facts of the case with any codefendants except through his lawyer pic.twitter.com/1EyR0Vjki8
— Tamar Hallerman (@TamarHallerman) August 21, 2023
Trump has to be really careful on social media, something that might be a challenge to him. Some are betting that he won't make it, though at least one user thinks it was designed that way.
Under a week
— Blondina Winter — #TeamSanity, #DeSantis2024 (@blondina_winter) August 21, 2023
What time is it now? I’ll take 2 hours.
— Phase Blowly (@PhaseBlowly) August 21, 2023
It’s written in such a way as to make it impossible for him to NOT violate it! This was the plan all along …. Can’t get him on any crimes, so let’s make it so we can declare a new crime!
— FightFakeNews (@Dalekritzee) August 21, 2023
Over at our sister site of RedState, Jeff Charles aptly suggested that "Fulton County's Bond Agreement With Trump Is Designed to Play on His Biggest Weakness."
"For those of us who have more than a healthy skepticism of these indictments -- and even the legal system in general, these conditions might be designed to play on one of Trump's greatest weaknesses: his inability to keep his mouth shut," Charles noted.
And, when it comes to the scenario of Trump providing Fulton County with an excuse that he's violated the order, Charles sees that as "entirely possible."
Other users on Twitter took a keen interest in what would happen if, or perhaps when, he violated the bond order. Some seemed hopeful and gleeful about the opportunity.
Trump will never be able to keep up with his bond requirements
— ProLib (@prolibshow) August 21, 2023
I believe he'll be back in court next Monday because he'll violate this
LOL. He might as well remand himself to prison right now
— pistilstamen (@1point0show) August 21, 2023
And what happens if he violates the bond? That’s a rather important part, that seems to be missing.
— Caroline Winfield 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@mydoggyruss) August 21, 2023
The Fulton County indictment is the fourth brought against him. When it comes to the third, brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith to do with Trump's role in the events leading up to and on January 6, prosecutors asked for and were granted a protective order from Judge Tanya Chutkan. One of Trump's TruthSocial posts was mentioned in the protective order, a post that law professor Jonathan Turley pointed out didn't exactly help Trump. Charles mentioned it in his piece as well.
As discussed earlier, Trump's posting was a mistake and was made-to-order for Smith. https://t.co/leIknTcDr4 Now, Judge Chutkan has ordered Trump to respond on why she should not grant the protective order. This is the type of unforced error that Trump cannot afford in this case.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) August 5, 2023
Trump has lashed out against the protective order, arguing it violated his free speech rights, which may provide insight into how he'll react to the requirements of the bond order.
Hours after the bond requirements were set, Trump took to posting over TruthSocial to announce he was turning himself in on Thursday. He did not mention such requirements.
"She campaigned, and is continuing to campaign, and raise money on, this WITCH HUNT," Trump wrote in part, speaking about Willis. "This is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ. It is all about ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"
Trump also posted earlier on Monday about DA Willis, and has been consistently posting about the indictments since last Monday.
Trump and the 18 other co-defendants must surrender in Fulton County by Friday, August 25, at noon.
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