ATLANTA – Trump campaign legal counsel Kenneth Chesbro reached a settlement Friday with attorneys from Fulton County, Georgia in a 2020 election interference case.
Chesbro, who is accused along with Donald Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants of trying to delay the transition of power after the 2020 election, was scheduled to go on trial this week.
He accepted the offer as jury selection was underway on Friday, after completing a lengthy questionnaire about what 450 potential jurors would be asked. He reneged on an earlier deal late last month.
Appearing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, Chesebro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to file false documents and agreed to testify in the case as part of a deal.
Trump’s lawyer faces five years of probation, a $5,000 fine, 100 hours of community service and must continue to provide documents and evidence to the government as per the terms of the deal.
Chesbro told the court he had already written a letter of apology, another term of the deal. The deal was granted under Georgia’s first-offender statute, and Cesebro followed the terms of a plea deal that was dismissed in late September.
His attorney, Scott Grubman, who stood by his side, told the court that with good behavior, probation could be reduced to three years.
Chesebro is the second Trump attorney to plead guilty, and the third co-defendant charged in the case to take a plea deal with Fulton County prosecutors. Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell unexpectedly filed the indictment Thursday morning. The two lawyers were to appear together for trial before pleading guilty in the case.
Bail bondsman Scott Hall took a deal after pleading guilty to conspiracy last month. All three have promised to testify truthfully in the case.
Fulton County District Attorney Fannie D. According to Willis’ indictment, Chesebro was a key architect of the effort to use bogus voters from Georgia and other states in the last presidential election to override the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden in favor of Trump.
Outside court Friday, Grubman said it was wrong to describe Chesbro as the architect of a plan to subvert democracy. Asked if Trump should be concerned, Grubman said: “I don’t think so.”
“He didn’t hold a grudge against anyone. He went there and he took responsibility,” Grubman said, referring to his client.
He said the deal allows his client to return to his family and avoid the serious prison sentence he faces.
A spokeswoman for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the plea deal.
19 people were charged in Willis’ widespread fraud case with conspiring to tamper with the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Chesebro initially pleaded not guilty.
Trump and 15 co-defendants in the case, including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, have pleaded not guilty.
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