Back to back guilty pleas in the Fulton County election interference case for Powell and Chesebro

The trial that was set to begin with jury selection today has taken an unexpected turn after Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, one of the authors of a plan to use Republican presidential electors to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents.

Originally, Chesebro faced seven felony counts in the case. As part of his plea agreement, Chesebro will serve five years of probation, pay $5,000 in restitution to the state, and perform 100 hours of community service. He is also required to write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia and testify truthfully as the case continues. Chesebro is the third defendant to plead guilty in this case, and he is the first to plead guilty to a felony.

His guilty plea follows that of defendant Sidney Powell. Just one day before the scheduled commencement of jury selection for her joint trial with Chesebro, Powell appeared in Fulton County Superior Court Thursday and entered a guilty plea to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties. Under the terms of the plea deal, Powell will serve six years of probation, pay a $6,000 fine, provide restitution of $2,700 to the state to cover the costs of replacing election equipment, write an apology letter, testify truthfully in future hearings and trials, and furnish any requested documents or evidence subject to lawful privileges asserted in good faith prior to entering this plea. Chesebro and Powell had both requested speedy trials, which resulted in their cases moving more quickly than those of other Fulton County defendants.

Another defendant, Atlanta bail bondsman Scott Hall, was the first to reach a deal in the same Coffee County incident. These plea deals represent a significant victory for D.A. Fani Willis and the prosecutors who had charged 19 individuals, including former President Donald Trump, for their alleged roles in an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Powell gained notoriety for spreading baseless claims of widespread election fraud following the 2020 election and for her involvement in seeking access to voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia, and other locations to support those unfounded allegations. Powell faced charges related to her role in an effort to unlawfully copy election data from rural Coffee County, which is predominantly Republican. It is essential to note that there was no evidence of fraud in Georgia’s triple-counted 2020 election results. Powell and her legal team had previously denied any wrongdoing, contending that Coffee County officials, some of whom are also co-defendants in the case, had welcomed the scrutiny of voting machines, servers, and other sensitive election equipment.

Chesebro played a crucial role in the Republican electors’ plan, drafting memos suggesting that the General Assembly or Congress could declare Trump the winner in Georgia and other states won by Biden, based on disputed claims of voting fraud. Chesebro unsuccessfully attempted to have these memos excluded as evidence in the trial. The Trump campaign organized Republican electors in Georgia and six other states won by Biden, who voted for Trump even as the official electors in each state cast their ballots for Biden. They also filed paperwork as if they were the states’ official electors in most cases.