The NPR Politics Podcast - Donald Trump Processed Through Georgia Jail

Episode Date: August 25, 2023

Former President Donald Trump was processed through a county jail in Georgia on 13 charges that he was part of an illegal conspiracy to change the 2020 election results in Georgia. He has yet to enter a plea in the case.This episode: White House reporter Deepa Shivaram, national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, and WABE reporter Sam Gringlas.The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Unlock access to this and other bonus content by supporting The NPR Politics Podcast+. Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Connect:Email the show at [e-mail] the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hi, this is Ginger in Fauquier County, Virginia. I'm relaxing on the back porch and enjoying the breeze and listening to the drizzle of rain while I take a break from unpacking moving boxes. 82 days after we packed out of our house in Okinawa, our household goods have finally arrived. This podcast was recorded at 841 p.m. on Thursday, August 24th, 2023. Things may have changed by the time you hear it, but we'll still be setting up house and exploring our new home while also greatly missing the food, our friends, and the wonderful place that is Okinawa. Here's the show. Welcome to Virginia. Welcome to Virginia and those birds in the background make me happy. Yes, the Commonwealth. I live not too far from there, so very exciting. Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Deepa Shivaram. I cover the White House. I'm Keri Johnson. I cover the Justice Department. And WABE's Sam Gringlass is joining us from outside the Fulton County Jail. Hey, Sam.

Hello. Okay, so a few minutes ago, for the first time ever in history, former President Donald Trump was processed on criminal charges in Georgia. Fingerprints taken. We have a mugshot. This is the fourth indictment against the former president, who, of course, I should mention, is also a presidential candidate. Carrie, let's catch people up here. This is in connection with state charges in Georgia, right? That's right. This is an indictment that came up from the Fulton County

grand jury and the district attorney, Fannie Willis. Donald Trump is charged alongside 18 other people in this sprawling racketeering case that starts, you know, right around the time of the 2020 election and encompasses such things as allegations of a fake slate of electors in Georgia, pressure campaigns on the secretary ofors in Georgia, pressure campaigns on the secretary of state in Georgia and on former Vice President Mike Pence, intimidation of an election worker, Ruby Freeman, and even a possible break-in of election equipment in a rural county in Georgia. It's a big, big case. Yes, sprawling is definitely a good word here. There's so many components of this.

But as we kind of parse through it, it's important to point out this is not an arraignment. Donald Trump still needs to enter a plea. Is that right? Donald Trump has yet to enter a plea that will happen at arraignment in the coming weeks. But he has told reporters after he was booked at the jail that he's innocent and he did nothing wrong. We've heard that message from him before. And Sam, I want to bring you in here. This whole process today happened rather quickly, something like 23 minutes. You're there on the ground. What did you see? It was really fast. I mean, if you blinked, you might have missed this motorcade. It was presidential in size, but it sped by us really fast. We were maybe a couple of feet away from it, but he made his way very quickly into the jail and was not inside for very long before this long row of black SUVs and vans

started heading back down the road, back to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta. That's somewhat of a significant thing because anything that requires secret service, anything that requires someone as high profile as a former president, like former President Trump, that nothing ever goes quickly. So that is something that's significant to point out. And remind us, when is he expected back in court, Sam? So we are still waiting for a trial schedule to be set in this case. The district attorney initially asked for a trial to begin sometime in March. Today, she moved to move up that timeline to sometime in October. This is all still in doubt. But as Carrie mentioned, the very next step will

be arraignments when the former president will make a plea of guilty or not guilty. And we still don't know exactly when that's going to happen. Okay, got it. And Sam, while we have you here, I wanted to ask, the conditions at this jail, the Fulton County Jail, where Trump surrendered today, have been really dire for a long time now. The DOJ has opened an investigation into this. I'm curious, has there been any significant attention now that Trump was here today? Has there been any extra light on what's happening with the people who are incarcerated here. Yeah, well, the Fulton County Jail is certainly getting the national spotlight as a former president shows up and calls attention, really, to the conditions there. You know, I've been talking to some defense attorneys over the last couple of weeks who have clients in this facility, and one of them described the conditions to me.

Let's take a listen. They have no opportunities to go outside. There's no sunlight. The jail is smelly, as you can imagine. There's dangerous people in the jail. It's a pretty horrific place such that I sometimes have nightmares. Yeah, and this attorney told me he has two clients in the Fulton County Jail. They have both been in this facility for more than two years and neither of them have been convicted. They are simply awaiting trial. That is a very different experience from what former President Trump had today and what all of these other defendants in

this case who have already turned themselves in have faced when they arrived here to be booked and processed at the Fulton County Jail. And let's not forget, one of the reasons the Justice Department Civil Rights Division is investigating is that a man who was incarcerated in this facility died there this year. His cell and his body was infested with insects. It was an absolutely disgusting and horrible situation. And that's what civil rights investigators are going to be looking for as they continue this probe. That contrast there could not possibly be more stark. All right, we're going to take a break

and we'll be back shortly. And we're back. Carrie, Trump is, of course, not the only one being processed through this jail in connection with this case. Like we said earlier, a lot of people involved here. What is going on? Yeah, I could hardly keep track over the last 24 hours of mugshots of Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff, and many, many other figures connected to Georgia politics and the Georgia Republican Party in some way, shape or form. It's been a real revolving door over there. But the vast majority of the people who have been charged by this grand jury have now been through the booking process. I think we're near the end of that now.

It is an enormous number of people. And we think about Donald Trump being kind of central to this. But of course, there are so many other players as this all unfolds. I want to point out, though, that some of the folks involved here are trying to move their case to federal court. Is that likely for Trump? And how would that impact his proceedings? Donald Trump hasn't filed to move his case into federal court yet. But Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, has. And we expect a hearing on that matter early next week. Meadows is basically saying, listen, at the time of these activities, I was the chief of staff in the White House and I was on our secretary of state was actually in furtherance of your federal employment at that time. So that's the push and pull there. Okay, so we're still kind of waiting on that. And Sam, this is one of the first of these that will produce an actual mugshot. Is this more fodder for Trump's campaign? How do

we expect this to unfold? You know, it's interesting. Over the last couple of days, I've spent some time talking to voters in Fulton County. I went to this one community that, you know, used to be pretty Republican, but has shifted a lot, especially since President Trump rose in the Republican Party. And as we're talking about this indictment and the politics around it, it's a real mix. There are plenty of folks who are turned off by Trump, who will not vote Republican if he is the nominee again, in part because of what happened on January 6th and the fallout from the 2020 election. But then you also hear folks who haven't been paying much attention to this, even though it's happening maybe 10 miles away from where they live. So I think sometimes in our news bubble, we think that this is so front and center in the minds of voters.

But for many people, they're still just kind of tuning in at all that's unfolding at the courthouse here in Atlanta and in other courthouses around the country as the former president is facing four criminal indictments. Yeah, important to emphasize that last note there. Former president, current leading Republican candidate facing four indictments. That is a lot to unpack. Yeah, I'm stopping the carbs. I'm going to start to weight lift very soon, Deepa. Yes. Carrie, our power woman in the studio here with us. She has been up so late, you guys. All right. Well, thanks to everyone, including Carrie and Sam, for sticking with us for our second late podcast in a row. But we'll be back in your feed Friday at the regular time with The Roundup. Sam Greenglass of WABE, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. I'm Deepa Shivaram. I cover the White House. I'm Carrie Johnson, National Justice Correspondent.

And thank you, as always, for listening to the NPR Politics Podcast.