The High-Cost State and Local Election Attorneys: Jack Smith, Margaux Ellis, Colin Powell and Kenneth Chesebro & Anomalous Sean Smith
Both the state election prosecution in Georgia and the federal election prosecution in Washington received an advance thanks to the guilty pleas of Ellis, Powell and Chesebro. They were not charged with federal crimes in the Georgia case, but that information could be relevant to Jack Smith, a special counsel being investigated by President Donald Trump.
Lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell entered guilty pleas last week just before their trial was set to begin. Scott Hall is a bail bondsman.
The terms of the plea agreement also include five years probation, $5,000 restitution to the Georgia secretary of state’s office, 100 hours community service and a letter of apology to the people of Georgia.
Ellis’ charge stems from the December 3, 2020, subcommittee hearing of the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee where Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Ray Smith made baseless claims of widespread election fraud.
Perhaps as important, or even more important, the three attorneys’ admissions may prove culturally and politically helpful to those of us who are attempting to break the fever of conspiracy theories that surround the 2020 election and continue to empower Trump today. At the same time, however, it’s far too soon to tell whether the prosecution has made real progress on Trump himself. The ultimate importance of the plea deals depends on the nature of the testimony from the lawyers, and we don’t yet know what they have said — or will say.