Donald Trump co-defendant pleads guilty to charges of trying to sway Georgia presidential election

He is the first of former US President Donald Trump’s eighteen co-defendants to plead guilty in a case involving alleged illegal efforts to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.

Scott Hall, 59, who initially faced seven charges, pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy to interfere with election duties during a hearing Friday, Sept. 29, before Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee.

As part of the plea agreement, he was sentenced to five years in prison, fined $5,000 (about €4,700) and two hundred hours of community service. He has promised to write an apology to Georgia voters and testify in the upcoming trials of other defendants, which could be an important asset to Fulton County Prosecutor Fannie Willis.

A breach that lasted several weeks

The 98-page indictment names Mr. Trump as an associate of David Bossi, a longtime adviser to Donald Trump. Hall is described. Authorities say Scott Hall and his co-defendants conspired to let others in“Unlawful access to secure voting tools and voter data » in Coffee County in January 2021.

A breach of security in the county, about 300 kilometers southeast of Atlanta, Mr. It was one of the first known attempts by Trump’s allies to access voting systems. They manipulate votes in presidential elections. Shortly thereafter, there were sweeps in three Michigan counties that included some of the same people, and then a western Colorado county that Donald Trump easily won.

Officials say the breach began on January 7, 2021, a day after the violent attack on the Capitol in Washington and continued for several weeks.

No date has been set yet for Donald Trump

In this case not all the co-defendants will be tried at the same time. Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesbrough – both attorneys – called for a speedy trial, which will begin on October 23. M^me Powell is accused of hiring and paying a team of computer experts to copy election equipment data and software without authorization. Mr. Sesebro was accused of trying to get sixteen Georgia Republicans to sign false certificates of election victory. “Duly selected and qualified” of the state.

Mr. Dates have not yet been set for sixteen defendants, including Trump and his former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. Donald Trump, the favorite in the Republican primaries, has blamed many of his legal problems“Election Interference” At the urging of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, he withdrew from the 2024 race for the White House.

Unlike this broader practice in Georgia, the case being prosecuted at the federal level by special counsel Jack Smith for illegal efforts to overturn the results of Joe Biden’s vote, targets only one defendant: Donald Trump. According to Jack Smith, the trial in federal court in Washington is scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024, and is expected to last four weeks. In Georgia, the trial is expected to last four months.