ATLANTA (Scripps News) — Sidney Powell, who served as an attorney for then-President Donald Trump in the weeks after the 2020 election, pleaded guilty to multiple criminal counts tied to the election.
FILE – Attorney Sidney Powell, an attorney for Donald Trump, speaks during in Alpharetta, Ga., Dec. 2, 2020. Lawyer Sidney Powell pleads guilty as part of deal with prosecutors over efforts to overturn Trump’s loss in Georgia. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
Powell was one of 19 defendants, including Trump, who were being tried in Georgia for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the election and prevent Joe Biden from becoming president. Powell and fellow co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro requested a speedy trial. The others waived their right to a speedy trial.
Trump, who was indicted on four counts, including conspiracy charges and obstructing or impeding the certification of the electoral vote, has pleaded not guilty.
Powell pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties and five counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties.
Prosecutors recommended that Powell serve 12 months of probation for each count, totaling six years. Powell would also be fined $6,000 in addition to $2,700 in restitution.
Former President Donald Trump, right, sits in the courtroom at New York Supreme Court, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in New York. Trump is making a rare, voluntary trip to court in New York for the start of a civil trial in a lawsuit that already has resulted in a judge ruling that he committed fraud in his business dealings. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)
“Had this case gone to trial, the state would have shown that on the dates between Dec. 1, 2020, and. Jan. 7, 2021, the defendant Sidney Powell, along with several co-conspirators, enter into a conspiracy to intervene of election duties of Misty Hampton,” prosecutor Daysha Young said.
Young said that the state would have proved that Powell participated in a conspiracy to tamper with electronic voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia, while also taking sensitive election information and data from election computers.
Powell and Chesebro were scheduled to begin their trials this week.
Powell was also ordered not to speak to the media or any witnesses about the case. She was also ordered to provide truthful testimony on trials involving her co-defendants.
Powell is the first member of Trump’s inner circle to plead guilty in the case. A bail bondsman charged in the case accepted a plea deal in September.
