Former lawyer Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty to six charges in the Georgia election interference case.
Powell, who was charged alongside the former president, has reached an agreement with prosecutors and will now provide testimony in upcoming trials.
A total of 19 defendants are involved in the case, with the majority having entered not guilty pleas.
Powell was facing charges for conspiracy to commit intentional interference of election duties.
This plea deal, which includes six years of probation, is a significant victory for prosecutors in this extensive case. Powell played a key role in Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results.
The terms of the agreement also require Powell to record a proffer, which is a verbal account of her activities, as well as pay a fine and write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia.
Powell entered her guilty plea in a downtown Atlanta courtroom on Thursday, just one day prior to the scheduled start of her trial.
According to former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, it comes as no surprise that she accepted the deal.
“If you’re a criminal defendant who hasn’t spent a night in jail and you’re offered no time, you take it,” said Mr. Rahmani.
He further suggests that Powell’s actions may influence other defendants to make similar decisions.
“I believe the other defendants must seriously reflect and ask themselves, ‘Do I want to face imprisonment in Georgia State Prison, or do I want to accept this offer that guarantees no jail time?'” he stated.
Prosecutors have alleged that Powell was part of a group of Trump officials and supporters who infiltrated the election system in rural Coffee County, Georgia, in January 2021. They aimed to convince officials and voters that the election had been unjustly rigged against Mr. Trump.
Specifically, Powell was accused of hiring a forensics team and dispatching them to Coffee County to unlawfully access government computers and examine voter data.
Prosecutors claim that she conspired to manipulate voting machines, electronic ballots, and voter data, steal ballots from a polling place, and obstruct an election worker’s duties.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the Georgia case and currently faces a total of 13 felony charges, including racketeering. These charges allege that he exerted pressure on state officials to reverse the results of the presidential election.
He consistently denies any wrongdoing and asserts that the case is politically motivated.
Powell was one of the most visible and vocal advocates of his baseless claims about the 2020 election.
In November 2020, she notably participated in a press conference with other Trump lawyers, where she falsely alleged that US voting machines provided by Dominion Voting Systems could be hacked to “alter a certain percentage of President Trump’s votes and transfer them to President (Joe) Biden.”
Prosecutors stated that in a subsequent meeting at the White House, Mr. Trump considered appointing Powell as a special counsel to investigate alleged voter fraud in Georgia and other locations.
During last year’s televised hearings conducted by the congressional committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riot, Powell had a prominent role, demonstrating her close involvement with Mr. Trump and his aides in their election overturning strategies.
Dominion has filed a defamation lawsuit against Powell, seeking $1.3 billion (£1.07 billion) in damages.
Powell is the second individual among the defendants in the Georgia election interference case to plead guilty.
Bail bondsman Scott Hall also reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in late September.
As an ex-Republican poll watcher, Hall was accused of attempting to gain unauthorized access to sensitive election equipment in Coffee County, Georgia.
His agreement resulted in a five-year probation sentence, along with a requirement to testify against others in future trials.
