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Fulton County Court Holds Hearings Ahead Of Trump Georgia Election Case

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Fulton County GA District Attorney Fani Willis

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State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump, in Atlanta, USA - 15 Feb 2024

State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump, in Atlanta

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Alyssa Pointer

ATLANTA — Kenneth Chesebro, a former lawyer for Donald Trump’s campaign, pleaded guilty Friday to illegally conspiring to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia, striking a deal in which he will avoid jail time and agreed to provide evidence that could implicate other defendants, including Trump himself.

Chesebro was the second former Trump lawyer to accept a plea deal in the sprawling conspiracy case in as many days. The guilty plea came in just hours after jury selection began, ahead of an expected trial next month.

Chesebro pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to file false documents and accepted a sentence of three to five years of probation, a $1,000 fine, $5,000 in restitution to the state of Georgia, an apology letter, 100 hours of community service and a promise to testify truthfully against any other co-defendants in the case, should they go to trial.

The charge relates to Chesebro’s role organizing slates of pro-Trump electors to meet in seven states where <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Joe Biden</a> had won. According to details of the amended indictment read in open court, prosecutors allege several other co-defendants were a part of that conspiracy: Trump, four other lawyers including Rudy Giuliani, and one campaign operative. Chesebro signed the amended indictment, though it was not clear if he had offered prosecutors evidence related to the alleged role those other defendants played.

Chesebro’s guilty plea follows that of<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/19/pro-trump-lawyer-sidney-powell-pleads-guilty-georgia-election-interference-case/" target=_blank> pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell </a>on Thursday and made him the third co-defendant to admit guilt in the criminal racketeering case, which alleges Trump and 18 allies broke Georgia law when they sought to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory in the state. In addition to Powell, bail bondsman Scott Hall <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/29/judge-denies-jeffrey-clark-request-move-his-case-federal-court/" target=_blank>pleaded guilty</a> earlier this month. All have agreed to testify against others in the case.

The plea is the latest legal victory for Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D), whose office is prosecuting the Georgia case. In addition to flipping one of the key members of the alleged conspiracy, prosecutors now avoid a trial in which they would have had to showcase much of their evidence against Trump and others, which might have offered lawyers for other defendants a legal advantage heading into their proceedings.

The potential for incriminating testimony from three of Trump’s co-defendants could have a far-reaching impact on the former president’s legal fortunes, as well as some of the other high-profile defendants, notably Giuliani, who is alleged to have been involved in Powell’s and Chesebro’s efforts to help overturn Trump’s loss.

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Chesebro is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/16/kenneth-cheseboro-trump-indictment-fake-electors/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10" target=_blank>a Harvard Law School graduate</a> whose past work includes assisting then-Vice President Al Gore’s legal team during the 2000 recount of Florida’s presidential votes. He had been facing seven charges related to his alleged role as the legal architect of a plan to use Trump electors in Georgia and other key states to undermine legitimate 2020 electoral college votes to swing the election to the Republican nominee.

Chesebro’s guilty plea came after a morning of courtroom intrigue. He was seen entering the courthouse early Friday morning but did not appear along with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, prosecutors and defense attorneys as the judge spoke about the case to 450 potential jurors who had been summoned to fill out a questionnaire.

Around noon, prosecutors entered McAfee’s courtroom and were later joined by Chesebro and his legal team. Chesebro, who had originally pleaded not guilty, was smiling and appeared in good spirits. He was seen writing what his lawyer, Scott Grubman, later identified as the apology letter required as part of his plea agreement.

Grubman later cast the plea deal as a win for his client. If he abides by the terms of probation, the charge will be expunged from his record under the first-offender terms of the deal. In addition, the plea describes the crime to which Chesebro pleaded guilty as not being one of “moral turpitude.” According to Grubman, that should allow Chesebro to continue practicing law.

Chesebro did not plead guilty to the charge that all 19 defendants in the case initially faced — participating in a racketeering enterprise. He alluded to his unwillingness to admit guilt to some of the allegations in an exchange with the judge.

“Are you pleading guilty today because you believe there is a factual basis for moving forward with this charge?” McAfee asked, to which Chesebro pointedly replied: “Yes, this charge.”

After Chesebro pleaded guilty, his lawyer asked McAfee if his client’s probation case could be transferred to Puerto Rico, his current home. McAfee said that could “complicate” the terms of his probation, and Chesebro agreed to stay in Atlanta for a few days to work out the details.

“Was he planning to leave today?” McAfee asked Grubman.

“He was planning to stay here for three to six months,” Grubman replied, prompting laughter at the reference to the now-averted trial that was due to begin early next month.

The amended indictment detailed a range of activities by Chesebro for which the state said it would present evidence in a trial, including a central role devising a plan to convene Trump electors, an intent to disrupt the congressional proceedings on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/january-6-capitol-riot/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Jan. 6</a>, 2021 as well as Chesebro’s own attendance at the protest at the U.S. Capitol that day. Chesebro nodded as the details of the indictment were read and later signed the document.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Grubman said the deal “proves that he was not and never was the architect of any sort of fake elector plan or anything like that”<b> </b>and said Chesebro would not have gotten a plea deal with no jail time if prosecutors believed he had been trying to “overturn democracy.”

Though he said his client had agreed to testify against other co-defendants, Grubman said he and Chesebro would be surprised if he were tapped as a witness in any future case. “He didn’t snitch on anyone,” Grubman said. “He simply decided it was time for him to put this behind him and go on with his life.”

Prosecutors did not comment after the hearing because the case against the 16 remaining co-defendants is ongoing. No trial date has been set.

Through his attorneys, Chesebro had claimed he was merely offering legal opinions to his client, the Trump campaign, and had unsuccessfully sought to block memos and other emails he sent to Republicans across the country and others working on the Trump campaign from being used at trial.

Chesebro’s testimony could touch on a number of his co-defendants. The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/14/trump-indictment-georgia-election-2020/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10" target=_blank>98-page indictment</a> portrays Chesebro as central not just to the convening of contingency electors but also to the “strategy for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.”

The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/15/georgia-indictment-charges/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10" target=_blank>seven felony charges</a> he had faced included conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to file false documents, as well as violation of an anti-racketeering act originally aimed at dismantling organized crime groups. In the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/trump-indictment-jan-6-2020-election/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11" target=_blank>separate federal case</a> brought against Trump, Chesebro has not been charged. Prosecutors described him only as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/doj-trump-indictment-trump-coconspirators/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11" target=_blank>Co-Conspirator 5</a>,” saying he was behind “a corrupt plan to subvert the federal government function by stopping Biden electors’ votes from being counted and certified.”

The Trump electors are also at the center of a case in Michigan, where a prosecutor told a judge this week she had reached a cooperation agreement with one of the 16 Republicans who had signed official-looking paperwork falsely claiming Trump had won that state.

The judge in Michigan on Thursday dismissed the charges against Trump elector James Renner, but neither side made public the terms of the prosecution’s deal with him.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) in July charged Renner and 15 others with eight felony counts each, including forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery. The prosecution of the others is ongoing.

As Friday’s hearing ended, Chesebro lingered in the courtroom, turning his chair to gaze at the dozen reporters who were on hand to cover his surprise guilty plea.

Chesebro said nothing as he slowly angled his chair back toward the front of the courtroom. His plea deal bars him from speaking to the media about the case.

<i>Gardner reported from Washington. Patrick Marley in Madison, Wis., contributed to this report.</i>

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Holly Bailey is a national correspondent for The Washington Post based in Atlanta and covering the South. She was previously based in Minneapolis, where she covered the Upper Midwest. She joined The Post in 2019 as a national political reporter covering the 2020 presidential campaign.

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Amy Gardner has worked at The Post since 2005 and currently covers voting on its Democracy Team. She is part of the team that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. She is a 1990 graduate of The University of Pennsylvania and lives in Arlington, Va., with her husband, Bob. They have two sons.

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