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Former President Donald Trump received more bad news on Friday in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation into his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Trump's ex-attorney Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit filing false documents in an Atlanta-area courtroom early Friday afternoon. Chesebro is the latest of the former president's co-defendants to plead guilty to avoid serving jailtime in Willis' election interference case.
The charges stem from Willis' investigation into Trump's alleged attempts to thwart the 2020 election results in Georgia, a state he narrowly lost to President Joe Biden. Trump has claimed, without substantial evidence, that widespread voter fraud was to blame for his defeat.
The district attorney's probe focused on Trump's phone call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he asked him to find enough votes to tilt the election in his favor, as well as an alleged plot to submit a false slate of pro-Trump electors from Georgia to the Electoral College. Trump has maintained his innocence, accusing Willis of targeting him for political purposes such as to derail his 2024 presidential campaign.
Chesebro's guilty plea could be troubling news for the former president. In addition to being required to testify truthfully against his co-defendants, he will also be required to provide documents and evidence—including text messages and emails—to state prosecutors to be used in their case.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for comment via email.
Meanwhile, former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi told Newsweek that the plea deal marks "another bad day" for Trump.
"Whenever two attorneys that are part of your legal team have pleaded guilty to criminal charges, that is never a good day. The two attorneys who have pleaded guilty could be very powerful witnesses against Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and the others charged," he said in a Friday phone interview.
He noted that Chesebro was the "architect" of the false elector scheme and likely told prosecutors that individuals involved in the plot were aware it was a "fraud" at the time.
Rossi added that Chesebro's testimony could complicate Trump's defense.
"If President Trump is going to rely on the advice of counsel defense, it's very hard to do that if your two attorneys are criminals," he said.
Prosecutors accused Chesebro of preparing a memo outlining several legal avenues to challenge the election results. These strategies included sending pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College from several swing states where Biden narrowly eked out a victory, including Georgia, where Biden won by only 11,779 votes, less than a quarter of a percentage point.
Chesebro also allegedly provided strategies to disrupt and delay Congress' certification of the Electoral votes on January 6, 2021. Ultimately, efforts to thwart the election results failed, with Congress certifying Biden's victory.
Former U.S. attorney Joyce White Vance said the plea deal is a "big deal" in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Chesebro's plea is a big deal with Fani Willis. But it may be a bigger deal for [special counsel] Jack Smith. Team Trump ran the fake elector scheme in multiple states & Chesebro was the architect," she wrote.
Trump's Difficult Legal Week
Chesebro's guilty plea comes after a tumultuous legal week for the ex-president.
Sidney Powell, another one of Trump's former attorneys who famously pledged to "release the Kraken" with a series of unsuccessful lawsuits challenging the election results, on Thursday entered a guilty plea and will also be required to provide testimony against her co-defendants.
Trump has also attended his civil trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James' business fraud lawsuit. There have been several tense scenes in the courtroom, with Judge Arthur Engoron scolding him for interrupting witness testimony.
Meanwhile, Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed a narrow gag order on Trump in his federal January 6 case, limiting his ability to speak about individuals involved in the case. Trump's attorneys, meanwhile, are appealing her ruling.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more