How Kenneth Chesebro’s Guilty Plea Shakes Trump’s Election Conspiracy Case

2023-10-21 03:37:09
According to US media, he is considered the “legal architect” of the strategy, which had no less a goal than to overturn the election results in the US state of Georgia in favor of Donald Trump. At noon Friday, Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty. A significant step in the proceedings surrounding the alleged influence on the 2020 US presidential election and once morest Trump.

The 62-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer stands in a white shirt and black suit at his guilty plea hearing in Fulton County, Georgia, Superior Court. At this point it is already known that Kenneth Chesebro has agreed to a deal with the public prosecutor’s office.

What makes his case so special: Kenneth Chesebro pleads guilty to conspiracy, among other things. And admits that he wanted to manipulate the election results in Georgia following Trump’s defeat in 2020. Chesebro wrote a series of memos in November and December of the election year in which he suggested appointing pro-Trump electors who would proclaim Trump the winner in Georgia. Before his deal with prosecutors, Chesebro had unsuccessfully sought to have the memos excluded as evidence at trial.

Former US President Trump’s co-defendant Scott Hall pleaded guilty to several charges in the election conspiracy trial.

30.09.2023 | 00:23 min

Through the agreement, Chesebro now avoids prison. Instead: five years probation, $5,000 in restitution, 100 hours of community service, a letter of apology to the people of Georgia. In return: His promise to testify once morest co-defendants in future trials.

Sidney Powell had to make the same promise just one day earlier. On Thursday, the attorney pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts for her role in the breach of election data in Coffee County. The double whammy is a “monumental victory” for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, said Paula Reid, chief legal affairs correspondent for CNN. Willis now has “not just one, but two important witnesses once morest former President Donald Trump.” Powell and Chesebro were supposed to appear in court next week, but that date has now been canceled due to their guilty pleas. It might have been the start of a long trial in which prosecutors would be forced to put much of their evidence once morest Trump on the table.

Former US President Trump is now facing his fourth indictment – this time from Georgia for attempted election fraud.

Aug 15, 2023 | 01:47 minThat’s exactly what they don’t have to do anymore – not good news for Trump and his lawyers, Reid explains: “Otherwise they would have been able to figure out the weakest parts of this case and a more robust defense for their client [Donald Trump] to prepare.”

In addition, another special feature should be taken into account when reading out Kenneth Chesebro’s admission. According to Reid, Trump’s colleagues expected something similar from him as with Powell, but the big difference was a specific name that was read: “He pleads guilty to a crime and…

Trump is named by name as an accomplice in a crime – which puts a heavy burden on the lawyer. There was initially no reaction from Trump, not even on his Truth Social platform. No trial date has yet been set for the former US president and 15 other defendants.

Observers assume that the public prosecutor’s office will negotiate further deals with other co-defendants. This brings a new dynamic to the process – a good twelve months before the US election.

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