A third co-defendant of Donald Trump has accepted a plea deal in the Georgia 2020 election-subversion case.
Kenneth Chesebro, a former attorney for the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents in Fulton County court on Friday afternoon, just as jury selection for his trial had gotten underway. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Chesebro will receive five years probation and will be required to pay $5,000 in restitution to Georgia and complete 100 hours of community service. Chesebro had reportedly declined a plea deal that had been offered to him earlier this week, per ABC News.
Prosecutors alleged that Chesebro orchestrated the scheme to put together slates of fake electors in key battleground states. The electors signed fake certificates claiming falsely that Trump won the states they represented. Chesebro originally faced seven charges including racketeering and conspiracy to commit forgery.
Chesebro was slated to stand trial alongside Sidney Powell, another Trump campaign attorney, after they both sought to separate their cases from another 17 co-defendants. Powell was alleged to have hired a firm to illegally access voting machines and voter data in Coffee County, Georgia. On Thursday, she accepted her own plea deal, pleading guilty to six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties. She received six years probation, among other penalties.
Scott Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman, was the first of the 19 defendants named in the sprawling indictment to accept a plea deal from prosecutors. Hall, who was alleged to have taken part in the Coffee County plot, pleaded guilty last month to five misdemeanor counts and received five years probation. Chesebro, Powell, and Hall have all agreed to testify truthfully against their other defendants if called upon to do so by prosecutors.
