Trump co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro reaches plea deal in Georgia election interference case

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Kenneth Chesebro, the attorney described as the architect of a scheme aimed at keeping former President Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election, reached a plea deal with prosecutors on Friday, days before his trial was set to begin.

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He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents, WSB-TV reported. In exchange, prosecutors recommended he be sentenced to five years of probation and pay $5,000 in restitution. He will also be required to write a letter of apology to the people of Georgia, WSB reported.

In court, Chesebro admitted to his part in a scheme in which 16 Georgia Republicans signed a certificate falsely claiming that they were Georgia’s “duly elected and qualified” electors, and that Trump won the 2020 presidential election.

The attorney had faced seven charges, including two counts each of conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree and conspiracy to commit false statements and writings. Prosecutors said other charges against Chesebro would be dropped as part of their agreement.

Chesebro was one of 19 people — including Trump — indicted over the summer on suspicion of violating Georgia’s RICO Act to keep Trump in the White House.

Chesebro had been scheduled to go to trial Monday alongside attorney Sidney Powell, who was also indicted in August. However, Powell accepted a deal from prosecutors and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges on Thursday.

Powell was the second person to reach a plea deal with prosecutors after Atlanta-area bail bondsman Scott Hall pleaded guilty last month. Chesebro earlier rejected a plea deal, ABC News and NBC News reported.

Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell.

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