Author: David Jackson, USA TODAY

The Republican National Committee formally announced the GOP candidates will take the debate stage Wednesday.

Former President Donald Trump plans to turn himself in for booking at the Fulton County jail on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.

“I was reliably informed Trump isn’t funding any of us who are indicted,” said former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis.

Trump has long hinted he would skip the debate, citing his large lead in polls and saying he did not want to give trailing rivals free shots at him

The flap came just days before the first Republican debate on Wednesday, although Donald Trump has indicated he will not attend that event.

Trump’s absence from the stage creates a new layer of challenges for other Republican candidates who want to emerge as his main challenger.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan “obviously wants me behind bars. VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!” Trump said in a Truth Social post just after 1 a.m. ET

Judge tells Trump lawyers: ‘Your client’s defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the Internet.’

A federal judge will set the schedule for the trial, which Smith would like to open less than two weeks before the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses.

Trump has suggested for months that he might skip the first in a series of planned Republican debates.