A third co-defendant has now pleaded guilty in the electoral manipulation trial against former US President Donald Trump in the state of Georgia – and may therefore testify against the Republican. Former Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro admitted to one count of conspiracy to file false documents during a live court session in Atlanta today.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, six other charges against the 62-year-old lawyer were dropped. Chesebro was given a five-year suspended prison sentence, a $5,000 fine and one hundred hours of community service. He is also expected to apologize in a letter to the citizens of Georgia and testify in future trials against other defendants in the case. He could therefore become an important witness against Trump.
Chesebro is considered the architect of the plan to send the names of fake voters from Georgia and other states to the US Congress after the 2020 presidential election. The aim was to prevent the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Third guilty plea
The day before, another co-defendant, Trump’s former lawyer Sidney Powell, pleaded guilty in the case. The first co-defendant, Scott Hall, pleaded guilty in late September. The three guilty pleas now made are important successes for prosecutor Fani Willis. In doing so, she ensures the cooperation of the accused in the Trump environment.
The former president was indicted on 13 counts in Atlanta in mid-August for his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and thus remain in power. Along with Trump, 18 other suspects were charged.
It’s OK for Trump
In another case in New York, Trump was fined $5,000 for defaming a court official. Judge Arthur Engoron, presiding over Trump’s asset fraud trial, imposed the sentence for violating his order not to comment publicly on court officials, according to a court document. He also threatened prison time for future violations.
In early October, the former president published a photo of one of the judge’s employees on his online platform Truth Social and described her as a “friend” of the Democratic Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer. Engoron then banned everyone involved in the process from commenting publicly about her staff: “Personal attacks on members of my judicial staff are unacceptable.”