Sidney Powell Pleads Guilty in Georgia Election Subversion Case

Just one day before the trial was about to begin, former Donald Trump attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty in the Georgia election fraud case. Powell recognizes her role in the hacking of the voting machines that took place in remote Coffee County, Georgia, in January 2021 as part of her admission of guilt.

To prove election rigging allegations against Trump, a group of Trump supporters collaborated with local GOP officials to gain unlawful access to and copy data from the county’s election systems.

What will be the next for Sidney Powell ?

Prosecutors in Fulton County have suggested that Powell receive a six-year probationary term. She also has to turn over requested papers, pay over $9,000 in restitution and fines, apologize publicly to the people of Georgia, and testify in subsequent cases.

Interestingly, Powell’s plea paperwork does not mention former president Donald Trump, a co-defendant in the Fulton County case, and he was not mentioned at the brief plea hearing that took place on Thursday.

Following the 2020 election, Sidney Powell circulated unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about widespread fraud and fabricated claims that millions of votes were rigged as part of a global plot against Trump, accusing foreign governments including Venezuela of being involved.

In the vast racketeering case, Powell is now the second person to enter a guilty plea, following bail bondsman Scott Hall, who did so last month and pledged to testify in subsequent trials. It’s important to emphasize that all 17 other defendants, including Trump, have maintained their innocence.

In her plea, Sidney Powell admits to taking measures after the 2020 election with the deliberate purpose of interfering with electronic ballot markers and tabulating devices. She also acknowledges having intended to steal software, data, and information belonging to Dominion Voting Systems Corporation. Powell also admits to hiring a data forensics company and sending its staff to Coffee County, where they gained unauthorized access to government computers and examined voter information while fully aware that they lacked the required authorization.

Sidney Powell’s guilty plea represents a significant milestone for the prosecution and emphasizes the legitimacy and value of her cooperation, even if Powell’s counsel had vehemently denied the prosecutor’s allegations that she had planned the Coffee County breach.

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It’s noteworthy that only one other Georgia defendant is mentioned by name in Thursday’s plea papers: Misty Hampton, who oversaw the 2020 elections in Coffee County.

Powell’s admission establishes her participation in a criminal conspiracy with Hampton, and as a result, should Hampton go to trial, Powell will be required to testify against Hampton. Hampton has entered a not guilty plea to seven criminal charges.

Sidney Powell still faces legal difficulties outside of the Georgia case. In the federal election subversion case that special counsel Jack Smith has brought against Trump, she is included as an unindicted co-conspirator. Powell is still being closely examined by this ongoing inquiry despite not having been formally charged in that case.

Additionally, Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, two voting technology companies, have filed significant defamation cases against Sidney Powell. In 2021, these lawsuits were brought after Powell falsely accused Trump of election tampering. These cases are still in the discovery stage before trial.

An important development in a complicated legal environment can be seen in Sidney Powell’s guilty plea in the Georgia election subversion case. Although she has admitted to her involvement in the Coffee County breach and given her cooperation to the authorities, she is still under investigation in a separate federal case for election tampering, and voting equipment companies have sued her for defamation. The 2020 election’s aftermath and related controversies are still being shaped by these court processes.