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Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts in the Georgia election interference case on Thursday, avoiding a criminal trial that was set to begin this month.
Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, two of Donald Trump's 18 co-defendants in the case, had been scheduled to go to trial together. Another co-defendant, Scott Hall, previously pleaded guilty.
As a general matter, it’s not unusual for defendants to plead guilty on the eve of trial, as they near potential convictions and stiffer sentences that can be bargained down pretrial. Nonetheless, the plea is significant for the Trump-aligned lawyer who will reportedly get probation.
As MSNBC Daily columnist Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Alabama, wrote on Wednesday:
Prosecutors usually start their dealmaking with the least culpable participants in a conspiracy. They flip these smaller fish in exchange for help making a case against the person above them, until they reach the person or people at the top. The highest value co-defendants can provide prosecutors with unique access to the people in charge of a criminal conspiracy.
Powell and Chesebro were literally in the proverbial room(s) where it happened. Powell, for instance, attended the contentious Dec. 18, 2020, Oval Office meeting when it was suggested she be appointed a special prosecutor to investigate election fraud. Chesebro authored the original plan for the fake elector scheme. Their testimony, if they were willing to be truthful and proved credible, could be a real asset for prosecutors.
As part of her plea deal, Powell agreed to testify at related court proceedings, NBC News reported. She also agreed to serve six years of probation, pay a $6,000 fine, pay $2,700 in restitution to the state of Georgia, and submit an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia, according to NBC News.
Chesebro and Powell, who requested speedy trials, had tried to separate (or “sever”) their cases, essentially arguing their charges were unrelated so it would be unfair to lump them together in front of the same jury. With her plea, Powell avoids a jury completely and Chesebro stands alone. Unless he pleads guilty, too.
So whose charges did Powell’s more closely align with, such that she could be useful to prosecutors going forward?
Two of those remaining defendants are Cathleen Latham and Misty Hampton, who in addition to Hall (who pleaded guilty) were charged related to the Coffee County, Georgia, voting system breach. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ indictment also names Powell in overt conspiracy acts alongside co-defendants Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and Trump himself, in connection with making false statements about 2020 election fraud and strategizing to influence the election outcome.