The first plea deal to resolve charges against a co-defendant in former President Donald Trump’s racketeering trial in Georgia has been reached.
Scott Hall pleaded guilty Friday, according to NBC. He was also the first defendant to surrender to authorities last month.
The deal reached with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office allowed Hall, who was charged with multiple felonies, to plead guilty to five misdemeanors.
Hall will be sentenced to five years’ probation if he keeps to the terms of the deal.
MAJOR BREAKING: Trump RICO co-defendant Scott Hall pleads GUILTY, agrees to testify https://t.co/ejTNX09XSS
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 29, 2023
“Do you understand that conditions of your probation in this sentence is that you testify truthfully at any further court proceedings to include trials of any co-defendants that is listed on the original indictment in which you were charged?” Hall was asked during a Friday afternoon hearing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.
“Yes, ma’am,” Hall said, in pleading guilty to five counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of an election. All other defendants have entered not-guilty pleas.
In addition to being on probation, Hall has to write a letter to the state apologizing for what he did, pay $5,000 as a fine and serve 200 hours of community service. He has already complied with a requirement to give the DA’s office a recorded statement.
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The 59-year-old bail bondsman was accused of conspiring to unlawfully access voter data and voting machines at the Coffee County election office on January 7, 2021, according to CNN.
Hall was filmed on surveillance video while spending hours in a restricted area of the election office during a time when voting systems were breached, CNN reported.
Jury selection for the trial involving defendants Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro is scheduled to begin Oct. 20. Powell was indicted in connection with voting system breaches in Coffee County, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“It’s hard to say how much damage he’d be able to do to (Powell’s) defense,” former Fulton County prosecutor Melissa D. Redmon, a University of Georgia Law Professor. “But you’d have to assume it’s going to be something for (prosecutors) to offer him first-offender misdemeanors and he can go on about his life and keep his business.”
With breakthrough for Georgia DA (@TamarHallerman reporting: “SCOTT HALL has become the first co-defendant in the Fulton election interference case to take a plea deal with prosecutors.”)
That spells bad news for, among others, Sidney Powell.
Example of alleged joint actions.👇 pic.twitter.com/odMM5C7JtX
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) September 29, 2023
Redmon told the Journal-Constitution prosecutors want to deal with those who can help them convict the main targets of a case.
“You want the ones at the table to be the most culpable and the ones you have the most evidence against,” said Redmon. “You don’t really want to be bothered with the low-hanging fruit if you don’t have to.”
On Friday, special prosecutor Nathan Wade said plea deals to Chesebro or Powell are likely to emerge.
“We’ll sit down and kind of put some things together, and we’ll reach out to defense counsel individually to extend an offer,” Wade said.
