Attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty Thursday to election interference charges following a sprawling investigation into efforts to influence the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
A grand jury indicted Powell and 18 others — including former President Donald Trump — on a variety of charges in August. The group was accused of violating Georgia’s RICO Act to keep Trump in the White House after he lost the election to President Joe Biden.
Powell, who served as Trump’s attorney and frequently claimed that the election had been stolen from him, was scheduled to go to trial beginning Monday.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Powell admitted to her part in a scheme that involved a breach of election systems in Coffee County. Authorities said she signed a contract with a forensic data firm to get them to travel from Fulton County to Coffee County for sensitive voter data.
She pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties. The charges are misdemeanors.
“Between the dates of Dec. 1, 2020 and Jan. 7, 2021, the defendant, Sidney Powell, along with several co-conspirators, entered into a conspiracy to intervene with the performance of election duties of co-defendant Misty Hampton, also known as Emily Misty Hayes,” Executive District Attorney Daysha Young said in court on Wednesday.
Hampton served as the elections director for Coffee County.
“The purpose of the conspiracy was to use Misty Hampton’s position to unlawfully access secure elections machines in Coffee County, Georgia,” Young said.
Prosecutors asked Judge Scott McAfee to sentence Powell to six years of probation — one for each charge she pleaded guilty to, with the sentences to run consecutively. She was also required to write a letter of apology to the citizens of Georgia and to pay a fine and restitution.
Authorities said that, as part of the agreement, the initial charges filed against Powell earlier this year will be dismissed. In August, a grand jury indicted Powell on seven charges, including conspiracy to defraud the state and two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud.
Powell is the second person charged in the election interference case to plead guilty.
Last month, Atlanta-area bail bondsman Scott Hall pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties. He was sentenced to serve one year of probation for each of the charges, amounting to five years of probation.
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