By Tom Hals
(Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump is due to surrender at a Georgia jail on Thursday to face charges he illegally tried overturn the vote in the state in the 2020 presidential election which put Joe Biden in the White House.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Trump is due to report briefly to the Fulton County jail where authorities will take a mug shot and process paperwork. He has already agreed to pay a $200,000 bond and not send threatening social media messages as he awaits trial.
He will need to report later — likely in early September — to court to enter a formal plea to the charges.
HOW FAR OFF IS A TRIAL?
Trump is known for using the courts to draw out cases, and the prosecution could be further slowed by novel legal questions stemming from the unprecedented nature of the case.
Legal experts said a delay could benefit the former president, the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination for the Nov. 5, 2024, presidential election.
Trump has claimed without evidence that the prosecution is motivated by political bias.
Trump may try to move it to another part of the state, arguing the jury pool in Fulton County, which Biden won with about 73% of the vote, would be biased against him.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CASE GOES TO TRIAL?
The process of selecting a jury could be lengthy, given the passionate views many people have of the former president and the amount of time jurors would have to dedicate to the trial. In the ongoing trial in Atlanta of rapper Young Thug, or Jeffery Lamar Williams, jury selection has run for months.
A jury of 12 people from Fulton County must all agree beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump is guilty for a conviction on any count. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, the judge can declare a mistrial.
If Trump is convicted, he would likely seek a new trial by asserting the outcome was inconsistent with evidence or contrary to the law.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Additional reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell)
