Sidney Powell, who served as an attorney for then-President Donald Trump in the weeks after the 2020 election, pleaded guilty Thursday to multiple criminal counts tied to the election.
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.
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.
"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.
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In August, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis decided to use a four-decade-old statute to pursue racketeering charges against former Trump and 18 others.
The RICO Act charges stemmed from alleged attempts to illegally interfere with the 2020 election. Georgia was one of several states Trump lost that he and his allies contested.
Willis said in a 98-page indictment that Trump and others "unlawfully conspired and endeavored to conduct and participate in a criminal enterprise in Fulton County, Georgia, and elsewhere." More broadly, racketeering "means to commit, to attempt to commit, or to solicit, coerce, or intimidate another person to commit" a variety of crimes.
RICO Act convictions carry a mandatory five-year sentence. Additionally, since the case is being tried in state court, defendants would not be eligible for a presidential pardon.
With the RICO Act charges dropped from Powell's case, it is now unlikely she'll serve any prison time.
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