Trump already taped Tucker Carlson interview that is expected to air on GOP debate night, sources say
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/21/politics/trump-interview-tucker-carlson/index.html
Former President Donald Trump has already taped an interview with Tucker Carlson that is expected to be used as counterprogramming for the first GOP primary debate Wednesday, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Trump confirmed Sunday he will not participate in the debate in Milwaukee. Stating that the public already “knows who I am,” Trump wrote on his social media platform: “I will therefore not be doing the debates!”
It is unclear what platform the interview with Carlson will be published on. The sources said that it would be released around the time of the debate Wednesday night.
For weeks, the former president had privately and publicly floated skipping Wednesday’s debate, given his lead in the polls. He is expected to spend Wednesday evening at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Late Monday night, the RNC announced that the eight candidates who qualified for the debate are Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
The Complicated Reason Larry Elder Isn’t on the RNC Debate Stage.
2 Trump Co-defendants Surrender to Georgia Jail
The first two co-defendants of former President Donald Trump have been booked into the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, online records show.
Scott Hall, a bail bondsman who is accused of conspiring to illegally access voting machines in Georgia’s Coffee County in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, was booked on Aug. 22.
Another co-defendant, former Trump attorney John Eastman, also was booked into jail, records show.
They and all 19 defendants in the alleged election fraud case are accused of violating Georgia’s racketeering law. They contested the Georgia election results.
In doing so, they allegedly illegally tried to keep President Trump in office, according to the indictment filed on Aug. 14.
Each co-defendant also faces specific additional charges; 41 total charges were filed, many of which include multiple defendants.
President Trump faces 11 charges.
Judge Scott McAfee had set Mr. Hall’s bond at $10,000 cash or 10 percent surety, under a “consent bond order” that was filed on Aug. 21 in Fulton County’s Superior Court.
The judge also set bond amounts for President Trump, $200,000; $100,000 each for Mr. Eastman and attorney Kenneth Chesebro; and $50,000 for attorney Ray Smith III.
The status of the remaining defendants was unclear on Aug. 22. They face a deadline of noon on Aug. 25 to turn themselves in or be arrested.
So far, all of the defendants’ bond agreements include communication restrictions. They are all barred from communicating about the case with each other or with witnesses, except through attorneys. Additional conditions were placed on President Trump, forbidding him from issuing any direct or indirect threats on social media, or reposting any such messages from other people. However, the former president can make general statements about the case. On Aug. 21, hours after the bond was set, President Trump criticized Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for seeking the $200,000 bond to ensure he would appear in court.
In a Truth Social post, he said Ms. Willis “insisted” on that amount.
“I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a ‘flight’ risk—I’d fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold-domed suite with Vladimir [Putin, the Russian president] never to be seen or heard from again,” President Trump wrote.