Grandson arrested with meth and needs to be bailed out of jail? Man stopped for driving under the influence and was arrested downtown? Former President Accused of Undermining American Democracy in a Vast Conspiracy with 18 Co-Defendants That Tried to Overturn the 2020 Election Results in Georgia?
You better call Shaw. Charles Shaw, a 23-year-old bodyguard from Georgia and the first person in history to guarantee the release of a former president from prison, has a diverse clientele.
He said it was easy to accept the job to save Donald Trump in Atlanta two weeks ago.
“I think this is probably the most secure bail bond I’ve ever done in my entire career,” he said two weeks later in his office on the outskirts of the city.
“I don’t think there’s much of a risk of him not showing up.”
Charles Shaw is a bail bondsman in Lawrenceville, Georgia. His company provided the $200,000 bond so President Donald Trump could leave the Fulton County Jail after he was booked
Shaw had a close-up of Trump’s processing in jail, where the former president sat with a defiant pose for his booking photo
It gave Shaw an up-close look at one of four cases against the former president.
His company, Foster Bail Bonds, played a central role in the trial that saw Trump appear at the Fulton County Jail to be fingerprinted and photographed.
It took about fourteen minutes for Trump to leave the jail with orders to return for his trial.
It was Shaw’s job to establish copper-bottomed financial guarantees to ensure that the 45th president would not abscond.
The publicity surrounding the case was good for business, Shaw said.
Revenues are up about 10 percent in Fulton County, one of six counties served by Shaw, since Trump was booked there. “And that wasn’t one of my most active locations,” the former police officer added.
It’s nine in the evening and his office is humming. A client fills out forms at the front desk to rescue a family member, while a member of Shaw’s team coolly juggles two phone calls.
In another office, an employee is sorting through the files of people who haven’t appeared in court and who now need, at best, a gentle reminder of their obligations.
“This is the busiest time,” Shaw said.
Shaw’s company, Foster Bail Bonds, is located about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta. He offers services in six counties, including Fulton County
Trump was arrested at the Fulton County Jail on August 25. He left for the airport in a convoy of police motorcyclists, looking for all the world as if he were still president.
He appeared under tight security at the jail in downtown Atlanta, Georgia
Trump was released on a $200,000 bond with a series of conditions
It was his connections with lawyers in the city that brought the former president, and several of his co-defendants, to him about a week before Trump was scheduled to surrender.
Bondsmen trace their origins to medieval Britain, where they offered guarantees that the accused would not leave town. The nobility could use their land to make a pledge, but the lower classes did not have that option before the advent of sureties.
But the idea of taking advantage of the system has fallen out of favor. And today, the US is one of two countries where commercial serfs still ply their trade (alongside the Philippines).
Shaw and his colleagues work by depositing cash with each province in which they operate. Shaw has deposited $1 million with Fulton County, guaranteeing a $10 million line of credit.
Every bond he underwrites is written down to that limit. Once each case is settled, the value of the bond is depreciated again.
For clients, this means they can keep their assets liquid without having to tie them up for months – useful for a billionaire with rising legal costs.
Trump got the same deal as everyone else. Shaw agreed to post the $200,000 bail in exchange for a 10 percent fee.
Shaw said he didn’t have to think twice because he knew the chances of a former president disappearing were slim.
“The former president was a big deal for so many reasons,” he said. “I mean, it was history for me as a bail bondsman.
Trump made brief remarks after being released on bail. He told a small group of media in Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson that it was “a sad day for America” and denied any wrongdoing.
Shaw also arranged bonds for other high-profile clients, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.
‘I’m the only one in the world who has ever done this and probably ever will.
“I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but it’s a fact.”
Trump is embroiled in an extensive 98-page indictment that includes a total of 19 defendants and 41 criminal cases. He has denied being guilty of all charges.
By the time he arrived in Fulton County to book, Shaw had a well-oiled machine for dealing with his new clients.
He had personally driven Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to prison. He was already there in the early morning hours when former Coffey County Republican Party head Kathy Latham and state lawmaker David Shafer turned themselves in.
And he arranged bail for Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giulani.
So he was done Thursday afternoon when he got a call informing him that Trump’s private jet had landed in Atlanta.
Images of Trump’s motorcade and police predecessors with a crowd on either side of the street on the way to jail, he said, reminded him of a famous gangster trial from history.
“It was reminiscent of videos from the John Gotti trial where people lined the streets,” he said. “Fans and enemies on both sides of the street.”
Shaw watched Trump enter the prison from the central booking area, separated from his celebrity client by a transparent screen. All top officials of the prison were present on the occasion.
The first defendants in the Fulton County case could go on trial in Atlanta next month
A person cycles past artist Chris Veal’s depiction of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s booking photo, painted Wednesday along the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail
“You saw them having a conversation with him,” Shaw said. “It seemed like everyone was cordial.”
Most details had already been arranged in advance. It was only fingerprints and a police photo.
“I think the mugshot was a point of consternation, but he was cooperative, everyone was cooperative,” Shaw added, saying the 14 minutes was a record for him and no doubt for the prison itself.
“It was an adrenaline rush,” he added. ‘The president’s arrival and bond was the highlight of that. But the other defendants… people were coming in day and night, so I think they might have gotten four hours of sleep in three days.”
Shaw was vague about his own politics. Some of Trump’s economic and national security measures have helped the country, he said, before adding that he was not a slavish follower of anyone.
“He’s a client, you understand,” he said.
His job now is to make sure the client knows when he will be next in court in Fulton County.
But despite his inside look at the conspiracy case, he is not the only bail bondsman involved in the process. Some have an even closer view.
Bail bondsman Scott Hall is charged in the case, charged with six counts related to attempting to access election equipment at the Coffee County Elections Office. He has denied the accusation.
Shaw said he has met him at events around town but doesn’t know him well.
“He owns that company across the street,” he said, pointing to a building with a red neon sign advertising “deposit guarantees.”