Sidney Powell, a lawyer who attempted to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia, pleaded guilty to reduced charges on Thursday, becoming the second defendant in the expansive case to reach an agreement with prosecutors.
Powell, who along with Trump and 17 others was charged with violating the state’s anti-racketeering statute, entered the plea just one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin. She pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors accusing her of conspiring to obstruct election duties.
As part of the agreement, she must serve six years of probation, pay a $6,000 fine, and write a letter of contrition to Georgia and its residents. She also recorded a statement for the prosecution and agreed to testify truthfully in future proceedings against her co-defendants.
Powell was initially charged with racketeering and six additional counts as part of a vast plot to keep the Republican president in office after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. Prosecutors allege that she also took part in an unauthorized breach of election equipment in a rural Georgia county elections office.
Powell is the most prominent individual known to be cooperating with prosecutors investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the election due to the plea agreement. Her cooperation in the case and participation in strategy discussions have the potential to expose the former president and shed light on what he said and did during the crucial period following the election.
Above all, the guilty plea is a remarkable 180-degree turn for a lawyer who, perhaps more than anyone else, vigorously promoted unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about a stolen election despite extensive evidence to the contrary. She also has significant knowledge of high-profile events, such as a news conference she participated in on behalf of Trump and his campaign shortly after the election and a White House meeting she attended in mid-December 2020 at which, according to prosecutors, methods of influencing the election’s outcome were discussed.
Only in response to routine queries from the prosecutor, Daysha Young, and the judge did Powell speak in court.
When Young asked “How old are you, ma’am?” there was a moment of levity.
Powell exclaimed, “Oh my God!” with a chuckle. Despite my astonishingly sprightly appearance, I am 68 years old.”
Young asked Powell, “How do you plead to the six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties?” Powell’s response was solemn and succinct.
Powell declared, “Guilty,” with her palms folded in front of her on the defense table.
John Fishwick, a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, referred to Powell’s guilty plea as a “significant win” for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
“This individual was at the epicenter of these allegations, and he is now pleading guilty,” he said. “This is very significant.”
Fishwick added that Powell’s confession is beneficial to Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith.
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Sidney Powell’s Guilty Plea Unveils Critical Insight into Trump’s Election Controversy
Powell is mentioned, but not by name, as one of six unindicted co-conspirators in Smith’s federal case accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the election. In this indictment, it is stated that Trump privately admitted to others that Powell’s unfounded claims of election fraud were “crazy,” yet he supported and promoted a lawsuit Powell filed against the state of Georgia that included what prosecutors deemed to be “far-fetched” and “baseless” claims.
Powell’s attorney in Washington, Barry Coburn, declined to comment on Thursday.
Powell gained notoriety for threatening in a November 2020 interview with Fox Business to “release the Kraken” in reference to a lawsuit she intended to file challenging the results of the presidential election. Similar lawsuits she filed in multiple states were dismissed immediately.
She was about to stand trial alongside attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who had also lodged a demand for a swift trial. Prosecutors had previously indicated that they would also investigate the possibility of offering Chesebro a plea bargain, but jury selection for his trial was still scheduled to commence on Friday.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin on Friday. Thursday messages sent to Chesebro’s counsel requesting comment on whether he would also accept a plea agreement went unanswered.
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Key Testimony from Bail Bondsman Strengthens Case Amid High-Profile Plea Deal
Scott Graham Hall, a bail bondsman involved in the case, pled guilty to five misdemeanor offenses last month. He was given a five-year probationary period and consented to testify in future proceedings. Trump’s primary counsel in the Georgia case, Steve Sadow, expressed confidence that Powell’s guilty plea would not harm his client’s case.
“Assuming truthful testimony in the Fulton County case, it will be favorable to my overall defense strategy,” he stated.
Powell, according to prosecutors, conspired with Hall and others to gain unauthorized access to election apparatus and hired computer forensics firm SullivanStrickler to send a team to Coffee County, in southern Georgia, to copy software and data from voting machines and computers. According to the indictment, an unnamed individual sent an email to a senior executive at SullivanStrickler instructing him to transmit all data copied from Dominion Voting Systems equipment in Coffee County to an unnamed attorney associated with Powell and the Trump campaign.
The trial dates for the 16 remaining defendants, including former New York City mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, have not been determined. Willis has been criticized for her broad indictment and use of the state’s anti-racketeering law against so many defendants. Fishwick stated that some people had speculated that if her case did not go well, it could undermine Smith’s case.
This demonstrates that, at least as of today, it is not currently undermining it. In fact, it strengthens his case,” stated Fishwick.
Source: Capital Gazette
