Kenneth Chesebro has just accepted a plea deal.
Politico reports:
Kenneth Chesebro, the attorney who helped orchestrate Donald Trump’s effort to recruit false electors to subvert the 2020 election, pleaded guilty Friday in a Georgia court to his role in the scheme.
Chesebro is one of the 19 individuals who, along with former President Donald Trump, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has indicted. Willis alleges that Trump and the others broke the law in various ways when they attempted to challenge Georgia's results in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump has pled not guilty to the charges. He maintains that Willis is politically motivated - that she is trying to derail his 2024 presidential campaign.
One of the concerns for Trump, in this case, is that the prosecution might try to turn some of the co-defendants against Trump. This may be what is now happening with Chesebro, who, at the last moment, has decided to take a plea deal.
Chesebro, according to NPR, has now pled guilty to a felony count of conspiring to file false documents.
Per the outlet:
Chesebro pleaded guilty Friday to one felony count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents. Prosecutors recommended he serve five years of probation, pay restitution and complete community service, along with testifying at trial.
Chesebro is now the second Trump co-defendant in this case to plead guilty. The first was Sidney Powell. She has pled guilty to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties.
In exchange, Powell is going to get six years probation, so long as she apologizes to Georgia citizens and takes the witness stand, if asked to do so.
Politico explains what Chesebro's and Powell's guilty pleas mean for Willis and the prosecution.
The outlet writes:
Before their plea deals, Chesebro and Powell had been set to go to trial next week — a trial that would have forced prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., to lay out much of their evidence against Trump. Now, they won’t have to and instead will be aided by promises of cooperation from Chesebro and Powell.
This could spell bad news for Trump. But, this remains to be seen.
Steve Sadow, the attorney who is representing Trump in Georgia, did point out a bright spot about Chesebro's guilty plea, namely, that the racketeering charge against Chesebro was dropped.
"It is very important for everyone to note that the RICO [racketeering] charge ... was dismissed. I fully expect that truthful testimony would be favorable to my defense strategy," Sadow said.
