<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The first co-defendants in the election racketeering case targeting former US president Donald Trump surrendered to the authorities in Georgia on Tuesday.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">John Eastman, a former campaign attorney for Trump, and Scott Hall, a bail bondsman, were booked at the Fulton County Jail, according to jail records.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Trump is expected to turn himself in at the same Atlanta jail on Thursday to face charges of seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set bond for the 77-year-old former president at $200,000 on Monday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and the 18 other co-defendants in the landmark case have until noon (1600 GMT) on Friday to turn themselves in to the authorities in Georgia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eastman, a conservative constitutional law scholar, is accused of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden electors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking to reporters after being booked, Eastman said: "I am confident that when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all of my co-defendants and I will be fully vindicated."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Asked if he continued to believe, as Trump falsely claims, that the election was stolen, Eastman replied, "Absolutely."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He added: "No question in my mind."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hall is charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit election fraud in connection with tampering with voting machines in Georgia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eastman's bond was set at $100,000 and Hall's at $10,000.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bond has also been set for seven other co-defendants including Jenna Ellis, a former Trump campaign attorney. Her bond was set at $100,000. A public crowdfunding appeal for Ellis had raised nearly $95,000 as of Tuesday to help defray her legal expenses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Trump was indicted in Georgia last week on charges of racketeering and a string of election crimes after a sprawling, two-year probe into his efforts to overturn his election defeat to Biden in the Peach State.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his previous indictments, Trump has not been required to take a mugshot.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But that may change in Georgia, with Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat telling reporters this month that when it comes to a booking at his jail, "it doesn't matter your status."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, has asked the judge to set a trial date of March 4 next year for Trump and the other co-defendants.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Trump is facing four criminal trials as he bids for a return to the White House.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Others facing charges in the alleged Georgia conspiracy include Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>