Oct. 19 (UPI) — Sidney Powell, a former attorney for Donald Trump, reached a plea agreement with Fulton County, Ga., prosecutors on Thursday.
Powell agreed to plead guilty to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties. She will be sentenced to six years of probation, and pay a $6,000 fine, as well as $2,700 in restitution to the state of Georgia.
She was originally charged with seven felony counts, including computer theft, trespass and conspiracy to commit election fraud.
She is among 19 co-defendants — including Trump — and the second to plead guilty. Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall pleaded guilty last month to five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to interfere with an election.
The agreement comes days before Powell was scheduled to go on trial with Kenneth Chesebro, who is also an attorney. Jury selection is set to begin for Chesebro’s trial on Friday.
Powell was allegedly involved in the theft of data from the Coffee County election office by an Atlanta tech firm. In the plea, she admits to her role in breaching the election systems.
During hearings on Powell and Chesebro’s motion to sever their trial from the other defendants, her attorneys disputed prosecutors’ allegations that Powell orchestrated the data breach.
Powell and the 18 others were charged with attempting to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Trump is campaigning for the Republican nomination for re-election in 2024.
“Ms. Powell had nothing to do with most of it,” Brian Rafferty, Powell’s lead counsel, said during a Sept. 6 hearing. “Frankly, your honor, the way the government has characterized that, the evidence is going to show they’re incorrect. There were other attorneys in this case that were actually the driving force in that.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.