We’ve heard lots of people say that in the United States “no one is above the law,” but Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis isn’t just saying it. In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s surrender and mug shot seen ’round the world, she’s showing us what an adherence to that philosophy looks like in practice.
Each is being treated like every other criminal defendant charged with a crime in that county, and that is the way it should be.
With her handling of the recent charges against Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, we are seeing that no one — not Trump, not his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, not Rudy Giuliani — is getting special treatment. Each is being treated like every other criminal defendant charged with a crime in that county, and that is the way it should be if the phrase “no one is above the law” is to be more than just a cliché.
For starters, after the grand jury returned its indictment on Aug. 15, Willis announced she was setting the same deadline for all 19 defendants to surrender to Fulton County authorities: “Subsequent to the indictment, as is the normal process in Georgia law, the grand jury issued arrest warrants for those who are charged. I am giving the defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Friday, the 25th day of August, 2023.”
Willis was not joking — as Mark Meadows learned this week when he asked for an extension beyond Friday to surrender. Meadows had a motion pending to move the case to federal court as well as dismiss the charges against him.
Willis swiftly rejected that request, telling Meadow’s lawyer John Moran in an email, “I am not granting any extensions.” She then added in a way that made it clear that no one is above the law: “I gave 2 weeks for people to surrender themselves to the court. Your client is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction. The two weeks was a tremendous courtesy.”
Willis then brought down the hammer: “At 12:30 pm on Friday,” she wrote, “I shall file warrants in the system.”
When Meadows then made an emergency motion to a federal judge to grant him an extension that Willis had denied him, Willis told that federal judge that Meadows’ request was “meritless” given that, even under federal law, he would be subject to arrest. The judge rejected Meadows’ request, as Willis had urged. Come Thursday afternoon, Meadows turned himself in to Fulton County authorities.
Then there is the fact that Trump, Rudy Giuliani and the other defendants have been required to post bail, like any other defendant facing serious felonies in Georgia. Trump — who has been charged with 13 felonies and has the highest bail set at $200,000 — was so angered by this development that he took to his social media platform on Monday to complain that Willis “insisted” on him posting bail because she apparently thought he would flee to Russia.
The bail requirement is noteworthy given that Trump had already been charged with 74 other felonies in three different jurisdictions, yet he has not been up until now required to post bail. While the laws in each jurisdiction vary when it comes to bail, some legal pundits have called out the special treatment Trump was afforded with very lenient bail conditions. For example, Reality Winner, who was charged with one single count of espionage — versus Trump’s 31 counts of violating that law — was denied bail until trial.
Trump, Rudy Giuliani and the other defendants have been required to post bail, like any other defendant facing serious felonies in Georgia.
In addition, the conditions in connection with Trump’s release in the two federal cases did not include any significant pre-trial restrictions, apart from don’t communicate the facts of the case with any other defendant and don’t “influence a juror or try to threaten or bribe a witness or retaliate against anyone.”
Both U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith have said that the law works the same for everybody, but it seems apparent that Trump has been treated differently than other federal defendants have been treated. In Fulton County, Trump is required to comply with a sweeping list of conditions to remain out on bail. The court order broadly states that Trump “shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.” From there, the court order lays out numerous other conditions, that include Trump being barred from making a “direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community.” Importantly, given Trump’s history, these limitations apply to not just what Trump says but also to his “posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.” And then, of course, there are the mug shots. While it’s the Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat, and not the district attorney, who controls how defendants are processed, he, too, has helped show America what “no one is above the law” looks like. As Labat stated earlier in the month, when it seemed likely that Trump would be charged, “We are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mug shot ready for you.” Trump was not made to pose for a mug shot, also known as booking photo, in New York or either federal case against him. In response to Kenneth Chesebro’s request for a speedy trial, she asked a judge to set the trial date for Oct. 23. And not just for Chesebro but for Trump and all the defendants. On Thursday, Willis gave us yet another example of how seriously she is taking this case when, in response to defendant Kenneth John Chesebro’s request for a speedy trial, she asked a judge to set the trial date for Oct. 23, less than two months from now. And not just for Chesebro but for Trump and all the defendants. She’d originally indicated she wanted the trial to start within six months of the indictment. The claim that everybody has equal standing before the law is often shown to be false, but Willis is showing that the claim doesn’t have to be empty and meaningless. She’s offering more than lip service to that concept. Thankfully, she is showing the nation that no one — not even Donald J. Trump — warrants special treatment when he’s a defendant.
