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Donald Trump’s former lawyer Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty to charges relating to the ex-president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, in a remarkable U-turn that will deliver a major blow to Trump and his legal team.
Powell was among the most vocal proponents of Trump’s unfounded arguments that the 2020 election was rigged against him, vowing to “release the kraken” of evidence she claimed would support his false assertions.
In August this year, however, she was charged alongside Trump and 17 other co-defendants in a sweeping criminal case that relied on Georgia’s expansive anti-racketeering laws.
Powell, a former federal prosecutor, pleaded guilty to six criminal charges on Thursday, just one day before jury selection was due to begin in her trial.
Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, another Trump campaign lawyer, had pushed for a speedy trial and were due to be tried earlier than the other co-defendants. Chesebro has not entered a plea deal.
A trial date has yet to be set in Georgia for Trump, who is facing four separate criminal trials, and several civil legal suits, as he runs for president for a third time.
Trump remains the undisputed frontrunner in a crowded field of Republicans vying for the party’s nomination in 2024. His indictments have only boosted his poll numbers with the party’s grassroots who will select the nominee in a primary process starting early next year.
But Powell’s about-turn could represent a big problem for Trump and his legal team. As part of her plea deal, Powell has agreed to serve six years of probation and pay $2,700 in restitution. Critically for Trump, she has also agreed to testify truthfully about her co-defendants in future proceedings.
Trump, who has been in court this week in New York, where he is the subject of a separate civil fraud trial, did not immediately comment on Powell’s agreement on Thursday.
Powell is the second co-defendant to plead guilty in the racketeering case in Georgia. Scott Graham Hall, a bail bondsman, pleaded guilty last month to five misdemeanour charges, and agreed to testify as part of his deal with prosecutors.
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