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Sidney Powell, a lawyer who pushed claims of 2020 election fraud on behalf of former President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in Georgia on Thursday and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, a threatening development for the Republican presidential front-runner and other co-defendants facing trial on conspiracy charges in Atlanta.
Ms. Powell pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties in connection with a plot to swipe data from election machines in Coffee County after Democrat Joseph R. Biden won the state of Georgia.
Prosecutors are demanding six years of probation, a $6,000 fine and restitution of $2,700 to Georgia as part of Ms. Powell’s plea deal.
Ms. Powell also must write an apology letter to the state and its citizens, and she is prohibited from communicating with co-defendants, witnesses or media until all cases have been closed, said Daysha D. Young, an assistant district attorney in Fulton County.
Most notably, Ms. Powell must testify against alleged co-conspirators named in a sprawling indictment from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat who said Mr. Trump and his allies violated state racketeering laws while trying to reverse the official 2020 results.
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Ms. Powell was a key player in efforts to overturn the 2020 outcome. She made post-election treks to the White House for strategy meetings and vowed to “release the Kraken” with proof of Mr. Trump’s fraud claims. Mr. Trump reportedly discussed appointing her as a special counsel at the time.
Now, Ms. Powell could testify against the former president in court. Mr. Trump has denied the Georgia allegations outlined in 13 charges against him.
“Her close position to Trump makes her a dangerous witness. If she were to support a conspiracy claim, it would be a shot below the waterline for Trump,” said Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University Law School.
Mr. Turley said Ms. Powell’s cooperation might not be the kill shot that Trump critics expect because she has denied the existence of a conspiracy in other forums.
“She has only agreed to testify truthfully,” Mr. Turley said. “She could prove a damaging witness for the state if she now rejects any claim of a conspiracy. Cooperation does not mean confirmation for the state. We will have to wait to see.”
Steve Sadow, the lead counsel for Mr. Trump in the Georgia case, said Ms. Powell’s cooperation could lead to a positive outcome.
“Assuming truthful testimony in the Fulton County case, it will be favorable to my overall defense strategy,” Mr. Sadow told The Washington Times.
Ms. Powell submitted her plea at a pivotal time for Mr. Trump. He is blowing away his Republican presidential primary competition in polling, but he is contending with a mountain of legal fights in multiple jurisdictions, including an ongoing civil trial against his business empire in New York.
He faces criminal trials in federal court over his storage of classified documents at his Florida estate and allegations that he conspired against the U.S. with his unproven election claims, including the formation of alternate electors in states that Mr. Biden won.
The Georgia case led by Ms. Willis is the most sprawling of all. It alleges a vast conspiracy involving Mr. Trump, Ms. Powell and 17 other defendants to overturn Mr. Biden’s upset win in Georgia.
Prosecutors said Ms. Powell’s guilty plea is tied to efforts by her and others to access data from Coffee County voting machines and distribute it to alleged members of the election subversion conspiracy. Ms. Powell, who played a part in hiring people to do the work, must pay restitution to defray the costs of replacing the election equipment involved.
Ms. Powell is being prosecuted under the Georgia First Offender Act, which allows her to keep the conviction off her permanent record if she complies with the terms of her sentence.
Asked whether she understood the terms, Ms. Powell said “I do” during televised proceedings.
Legal experts said the plea reflects the power of charging a group of defendants under conspiracy charges, whether it is Mr. Trump’s post-election actions or high-profile charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
“Any single defendant in the conspiracy is criminally liable for the foreseeable conduct of others in furtherance of the conspiracy, presenting a tremendous incentive to plead guilty and cooperate,” said Thomas P. Hogan, a visiting assistant professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston. “And once enough people from inside the conspiracy are cooperating, the main target of the prosecution is in a vulnerable position. Everybody from leaders of drug gangs to white-collar defendants like [FTX founder and CEO] Sam Bankman-Fried learn this lesson.”
Mr. Trump contested the 2020 election results from the start. He delivered a late-night screed against reports that he was losing in critical states and Fox News’ call of Arizona for Mr. Biden.
The protests turned into a coordinated push by Mr. Trump, Ms. Powell, former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and others to root out fraud and change the outcome.
Mr. Trump referred to Ms. Powell as part of “a truly great team” in a mid-November 2020 tweet.
The effort took several odd twists and turns, including a joint press conference at a Republican National Committee office where Ms. Powell stood next to Mr. Giuliani as he outlined claims with hair dye running down his face. Ms. Powell asserted that specific voting machines were created in Venezuela at the direction of Hugo Chavez, the dictator who died in 2013, to ensure he never lost an election.
Mr. Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and pressed officials to “find” enough votes for his side.
Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer at the Georgia secretary of state’s office who resisted Mr. Trump’s claims, said he looked forward to Ms. Powell’s letter of apology to Georgia. Meanwhile, other Trump critics could barely contain their glee.
“Oh my Lordy y’all. Trump is going down,” former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Illinois Republican, wrote on the X platform.
Despite the circumstances, Ms. Powell offered some courtroom levity when the prosecution asked her to state her age.
“Oh gosh,” she said. “Sixty-eight, despite my astonishingly youthful countenance.”
Ms. Powell conferred with her attorney after the assistant district attorney said she could not own firearms while on probation.
Judge Scott McAfee intervened to say the charge was a misdemeanor, so the plea “may” impact her ability to own a gun.
Ms. Powell is the second defendant to plead guilty in the Georgia case involving Mr. Trump and 18 of his co-defendants.
A bail bondsman, Scott Hall, pleaded guilty to five counts related to his presence in a restricted area of an election office during the alleged breach of voting machines in Coffee County in January 2021. He agreed to testify at future trials.
Jury selection is set to begin Friday in the trial of another pro-Trump attorney, Kenneth Chesebro, on several charges: violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery, conspiracy to commit false statements and writing, and conspiracy to commit false documents.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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