Following an agreement with prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, Sidney Powell, a prominent lawyer who is thought to have played a significant role in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to annul the results of the 2020 election, pled guilty to six misdemeanor counts.
On Thursday, Powell appeared in Atlanta’s Superior Court of Fulton County, where a prosecutor outlined the details of the plea agreement. In exchange for her guilty plea, Powell received a six-year probationary term and was ordered to pay the state of Georgia $2,700 in restitution as well as a $6,000 fine. At the hearing, the deal was approved by the judge presiding over the case.
Additionally, Powell must testify “truthfully against any and all co-defendants in this matter,” according to McAfee.
Powell was one of the Republican attorneys who promoted irrational accusations of widespread election fraud in 2020, promoting absurd notions of foreign meddling and vote-rigging in an effort to overturn the results. She took part in a heated meeting at the White House in December 2020, where White House lawyers grilled her and attorney Rudy Giuliani about their allegations regarding the election.
A grand jury in Fulton County indicted her along with 18 other people, including Trump, in August. Powell initially had to defend himself against seven accusations. As part of the plea bargain, the prosecution consented to drop the charges from the initial indictment.
Powell and another co-defendant, Kenneth Chesebro, entered a guilty plea just before they were scheduled to stand trial. The jury selection process for Chesebro’s trial will start on Friday as scheduled. Chesebro has entered a not-guilty plea. Powell’s plea was not discussed by a Chesebro lawyer.
Pleading guilty, Powell
Powell admitted guilt to six charges of conspiring to tamper intentionally with the conduct of elections, according to court documents filed in Fulton County Superior Court. All six charges stemmed from Powell’s coordination with SullivanStrickler, a data firm, to get election data from Coffee County, Georgia.
The conspiracy’s goal, according to Assistant District Attorney Daysha Young at the court, was to utilize Misty Hampton’s position to get unauthorized access to secure voting equipment in Coffee County, Georgia. Hampton is the county’s elections director and is also accused of the crimes. The goal was to “willfully tamper with electronic ballot markers and tabulating machines” and erase voting information from electoral systems. In order to go to Coffee County and get the data, Powell signed a deal with SullivanStrickler.
next to her lawyer in a chair Powell acknowledged the prosecutor’s allegations and said she understood the terms of the plea agreement on Thursday.
Additionally, Powell is not permitted to speak with “co-defendants, witnesses, or the media until this case has been fully resolved against all defendants.” As part of the agreement, she has to provide prosecutors with records and write an apologetic letter to Georgian citizens.
Powell said “other than what is recited in the documents, no,” when asked if anybody had coerced, intimidated, or offered her anything in exchange for her guilty plea.
The second defendant in the complex case to enter a guilty plea is Powell. By changing his plea to guilty to five misdemeanor counts at the end of September, bail bondsman Scott Hall became the first. In addition to a $5,000 fine and 200 hours of community service, he was given a five-year probationary term.
All of the co-defendants, including Trump, have entered a not guilty plea and have said they did nothing wrong.
What the admission of guilt might signify for the special prosecutor’s case
According to Scott Fredericksen, a former federal prosecutor and independent counsel, Powell’s guilty plea in Georgia may have an impact on her participation in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal investigation against Trump in Washington, D.C. According to him, Powell’s plea may be “the single most important development” in either of the investigations looking into what happened after the 2020 election.
Powell is most likely the individual listed as “Co-conspirator 3” in Trump’s criminal charge, according to CBS News. Plans to thwart Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 are allegedly involved. Fredericksen recommended that Powell be receptive to an interview with Smith and willing to testify if she is helping Willis. She might, however, ask for some sort of immunity or defense in Smith’s situation. She could be a key witness due to her direct testimony regarding potential statements made by Trump regarding efforts to rig the election. Insisting on his innocence, Trump said the current investigations into him are politically motivated.