Former President Donald Trump is poking fun at the bond agreement set for his criminal case in Georgia.
On Monday, an Atlanta judge approved a $200,000 bond for Trump in connection to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Shortly after the news of the deal, the former president took to Truth Social to make fun of having to pay.
“The failed District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Fani Willis, insisted on a $200,000 Bond from me,” Trump wrote.
He went on to apparently sarcastically game out the logistical issues of him attempting to flee the country:
“I’d fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again. Would I be able to take my very ‘understated’ airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see.”
He added, “Probably not, I’d be much better off flying commercial – I’m sure nobody would recognize me!”
Trump jokes (?) about fleeing to Russia pic.twitter.com/FD5VMpsMy4
— Wildest Truth Social Posts (@crazyhogposts) August 22, 2023
The post is kind of funny. The image of Trump trying to sneak away to Moscow in his Trump-branded plane is something you might expect to see on an episode of “SNL.” Though the prospect of a former president fleeing to one of the United States’ main geo-political adversaries is not good to say the least.
And if the judge and district attorney really considered Trump a flight risk — he probably would not have been granted bond. For someone who claims to be worth billions, $200,000, in the grand scheme of things, is not that much.
It seems the bond agreement may have had more to do with making sure Trump does not start attacking people on Truth Social as it implements some restrictions on the former president’s behavior. According to The Washington Post, “The former president is not allowed to communicate with witnesses or co-defendants about the case, except through his lawyers, and he is barred from intimidating witnesses or co-defendants.”
“He is also forbidden from making any ‘direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community,’ including in ‘posts on social media or reposts of posts’ by others on social media,” it added.
Since criminal indictments started raining down on him, Trump has not been afraid to lash out and attack the judges overseeing his cases or the prosecutors on Truth Social. He also used the platform to tell Georgia’s former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) he should not testify in grand jury proceedings — which some experts have said could amount to witness tampering.
Of course, Trump has his First Amendment rights. But he cannot be using them in furtherance of a crime. And his behavior on social media could cross the line into witness tampering and intimidation. So the bond agreement is probably in his best interest assuming he follows it.
His supporters would likely argue his posts are not at all meant to intimidate or interfere with his trials. Yet, when we’re talking about a defendant who is a former president who is once again running for the most powerful office in the country, those comments come off differently than someone on social media with the username, “BIDENSUCKZZTRUMP2024” screaming such comments into the void.
And prudence would dictate that Trump stop sending “truths” about his cases and potential witnesses. There is very little good it could do him, and a lot of worse outcomes it could lead to.