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Those close to Donald Trump are actively debating whether he should go through with his upcoming press conference aimed at addressing the allegations laid out in the latest Georgia indictment, sources tell Semafor.
Trump, who was indicted alongside 18 others on Monday night in the 2020 election interference probe, announced shortly after that he would be holding a press conference to present “A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia.”
ABC News first reported Thursday morning that Trump’s own legal advisors have since urged him against the speech, arguing that it would “complicate his legal problems.” Still, others close to the former president want him to go through with the remarks, sources told Semafor.
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The Georgia case is the fourth indictment Trump has been hit with this year. Others charged as co-conspirators include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
CNN reported Wednesday that Giuliani is struggling amid his ever-growing legal bills, and met with Trump back in April to plead for help. Trump, according to the report, “verbally agreed to help with some of Giuliani’s legal bills without committing to any specific amount or timeline.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested a trial start date of March 4, 2024 — shortly before Georgia’s Republican presidential primary.
Trump and his co-conspirators have until noon on August 25 to formally turn themselves in. The former president’s team is in active discussions about the surrender, though Semafor is told nothing is locked in yet.