ATLANTA — One of the attorneys for former President Donald Trump took a plea deal in the Georgia election interference case on Thursday.
Sidney Powell is one of 19 defendants indicted in the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
Powell had been scheduled to go to trial with co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro starting on Monday. However on Thursday, Powell agreed to a plea deal, becoming the second co-defendant to reach one along with bondsman Scott Hall.
Powell pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties.
As part of the agreement, Powell will serve six years probation, pay a $6,000 fine and pay $2,700 in restitution to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. She will also have to testify truthfully against the co-defendants.
Steve Sadow, who is representing Trump in the Georgia election interference case, issued the following statement about Powell’s deal.
“Assuming truthful testimony in the Fulton County case, it will be favorable to my overall defense strategy.”
Powell allegedly coordinated with SullivanStrickler, an Atlanta data company, to obtain breached elections data from Coffee County, Ga., in Jan. 2021. Local election officials reportedly gave the group access to equipment that was meant to be protected.
SullivanStrickler billed Powell more than $26,000 for its work which also included attempts to access similar election data in Antrim County, Michigan, and Clark County, Nevada. State investigators called it “criminal behavior.”
Powell also allegedly tasked people with identifying Georgia residents who could serve as plaintiffs in suits contesting Georgia’s election results.
Powell originally requested a speedy trial alongside Chesebro. Our partners at Channel 2 say their sources have confirmed that Powell’s co-defendant Chesebro had also been offered a plea deal but rejected the offer.
The deal would have forced him to testify against his co-defendants, including former Pres. Trump, in exchange for three years probation and a $10,000 fine. The terms of the deal also included a written letter of apology.
Jury selection for Chesebro’s trial is expected to begin on Friday. A trial date has not yet been set for the remaining 16 defendants.
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