Trump looks forward to ‘proud’ criminal arrest in Georgia

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Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will be “proudly arrested” on Thursday in Georgia, and repeated his claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Mr. Trump’s comments show he has no intention of changing tack as he reports to Fulton County for his booking on a sweeping indictment that accuses him and 18 others of a conspiracy to overturn the election results in Georgia. He remains unbowed by a series of criminal charges against him, as polls show him solidifying his lead against the field of GOP presidential rivals.

“Nobody has ever fought for election integrity like President Donald J. Trump,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “For doing so, I will proudly be arrested tomorrow afternoon in Georgia.”

Mr. Trump will be required to post a bond — $200,000 —for the first time ever. He is expected to travel Thursday from his Bedminster, New Jersey, property to Georgia for a carefully arranged booking in the evening, according to CNN.

The ex-president is part of a parade of defendants who are reporting to Atlanta to be booked before the noon Friday deadline set by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

The defendants, including Mr. Trump, are arranging bond agreements and conditions of release ahead of trial.

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who served as Mr. Trump’s lawyer and pushed many unproven claims about 2020 election fraud, was traveling to Georgia on Wednesday for his booking.

“I’m feeling very, very good about it because I feel like I am defending the rights of all Americans, as I did so many times as a United States attorney,” Mr. Giuliani said.

Mr. Giuliani is among those accused of participating in a conspiracy to overturn election results under a state racketeering, or “RICO,” statute. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Giuliani wielded federal RICO laws against members of the mafia.

“It’s not accidental they indicted all the lawyers, never heard of that before in America,” Mr. Giuliani said Wednesday. “They are going to come for you. When the political winds shift, as they always do, let us pray that Republicans are more honest, more trustworthy and more American than these people in charge of this government.”

Sidney Powell, a lawyer who pushed unsubstantiated theories about voter fraud, also reported to authorities on Wednesday.

At least four other defendants in the indictment have turned themselves in: Scott Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman; John Eastman, a conservative attorney; former Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer; and alleged fake elector Cathy Latham, according to a list compiled by CBS News.

Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows lost his bid Wednesday to delay his arrest when a federal judge rejected his argument that his booking should be postponed until the courts decide whether to move his case to federal court. Mr. Meadows says that is the proper venue because allegations in the indictment focus on his time at the White House.

Ms. Willis has said she is not interested in granting delays.

“The hardship facing the defendant is no different than any other criminal defendant charged with a crime, including his co-defendants who have either already surrendered to Fulton County Authorities or have agreed to so surrender in the time allotted by the district attorney,” Ms. Willis said in a court filing Wednesday.

Mr. Trump has been indicted four times this year but has not lost GOP voters’ support in presidential primary polling. He feels so secure in his lead that he decided to skip the first primary debate in Milwaukee late Wednesday on the eve of his visit to Georgia.

The ex-president is repeating the stolen-elections claims that fueled the Fulton County indictment and federal charges from special counsel Jack Smith.

Mr. Trump backed off plans to hold a press conference outlining alleged 2020 election fraud in Georgia after his lawyers said it was a bad idea. Also, some in the GOP wish Mr. Trump would stop looking backward and focus on the future.

He hasn’t stopped talking about the issue online, however.

“For those RINOS, Radical Left Democrats, Communists, Marxists, Fascists, & others who say, ‘Don’t Look Back, Look Forward,’ they either do not want to reveal the answers because they ‘got away with murder,’ or are FOOLS & COWARDS because we now know the answers to all of the Fraud, Irregularities, & Cheating, & WE CANNOT LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!” he wrote Wednesday.