The latest plea update in the Georgia racketeering case was announced today. A Trump ex-lawyer, Sidney Powell, pleaded guilty in the election interference case. She pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to interfere with the performance of election duties intentionally.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the first guilty plea deal in the case. The first to plead guilty was Scott Hall, a bail bondsman involved with electronic voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia. Hall worked with Sidney Powell and others to access voter data and ballot-counting machines on January 7, 2021. So, one day after Trump’s supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, a team of people who are now defendants in the racketeering case, met in the Coffee County election office to steal election data.
Second Plea Deal
The plea deal requires Powell to
- Serve six years of probation
- Pay a $6,000 fine
- Pay restitution of $2,700 to the state for the loss of election equipment
- Write an apology letter
- Testify truthfully in future hearings and trials
- Before entering this plea, provide any requested documents or evidence subject to any lawful privileges asserted in good faith.
Powell pleaded guilty one day before her trial began with another defendant, Ken Chesebro. On Friday, October 20, jury selection will begin for Chesebro, with the trial beginning on Monday. According to reports, Chesebro rejected the plea offer ahead of tomorrow’s trial. The deal would have allowed Chesebro to avoid prison time by pleading guilty to one felony count of racketeering, the top charge in the indictment, according to the sources.
He would have had to agree to testify against his codefendants — including Trump — in exchange for three years’ probation and a $10,000 fine.
The terms of the deal also included a written letter of apology, the sources said. The deal would have been made under Georgia’s first-offender act, under which the conviction would have been wiped from Chesebro’s record after probation was completed.
As Dr. Mary Trump has said, as time goes on, more of the defendants will seek a plea. Let’s see if Chesebro is one of those defendants.
Chesebro Pleads Guilty at Last Minute
On October 20th, a Trump ex-lawyer, Ken Chesebro, pleaded guilty in the election interference case, the third defendant in the racketeering case. Chesebro’s trial was to start today. Instead, Trump and the other 15 defendants are denied the nature of the prosecutor’s case.
Chesebro was accused of drafting an “alternate electors” strategy to prevent Joe Biden from receiving 270 electoral votes. He pleaded guilty when the Judge asked, “How do you plead to Count 15, conspiracy to commit filing false documents?” The documents in question were slates of “alternate electors” who signed paperwork falsely giving electoral votes to the loser in the election, Donald Trump.
Chesebro admited he conspired with Trump, Rudi Guiliani, and John Eastman to put forward fake electors in Georgia. The conspiracy is at the heart of the racketeering charges brought by Fulton prosecutors. Chesebro pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing of false documents and will receive five years’ probation and a $5,000 fine, in exchange for agreeing to testify and provide documents and evidence.
Update Summary
The three guilty pleas obtained by the prosecution are signals about the direction of the Fulton County election interference case. As the photo depicts, there is a trend now for defendants to realize they can avoid jail time if they are willing to admit they are guilty. For example, even though Chesbro pleaded guilty to one felony, he still will be able to practice law. The other penalties are a confession, a fine, probation, and community service. There are still many low-level defendants who ought to consider pleas. Only time will tell.
Although Trump’s lawyers say that they are not concerned about the pleas, these results can not be good news for Trump himself. He’ll realize that his circle of defense is getting smaller by the day.
As Dr. Mary Trump has said, as time goes on, more of the defendants will seek a plea. Let’s see if Chesebro is one of those defendants.
Chesebro pleaded guilty today to racketeering charges. He was the lawyer that promoted the fake elector plan in several key states, including Georgia.