Report: Several Trump Codefendants Engaged in Plea Discussions With Georgia Prosecutors, Reveals Vanity Fair

Article by Caleb Ecarma

Georgia continues to be a legal battleground for Donald Trump with mounting difficulties. Four out of 18 co-defendants in the state's case on election interference have already sided with the prosecution and more are projected to follow. According to a report by CNN on Wednesday, Fulton County prosecutors have contemplated plea deals with a minimum of six other co-defendants implicated in Trump's purported scheme to wrongly overturn the state's votes in the 2020 presidential race.

A legal practitioner in Georgia, Robert Cheeley, who is infamously known for inaccurate allegations against Atlanta election staff of pumping up ballot counts, is one of these people. However, Richard Rice, Cheeley’s attorney, shared with CNN that his client refused the proposed deal stating it was offered in the past and there were no ongoing discussions with the DA’s office. Charges against Cheeley include a total of ten counts, one of them being apparently committing perjury before a grand jury. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis' office, which is managing the case on election subversion, is said to have explored plea deals with Misty Hampton, former Coffee County elections supervisor, and a past aide to Trump, Michael Roman. Hampton is facing charges of deliberately and unlawfully interfering with electronic ballot markers and counting machines, while Roman is said to have partaken in the Trump campaign’s phony-electors strategy. They are both implicated in seven counts and, alongside Trump and the other co-defendants, were indicted in August under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Both Hampton and Roman denied the charges.

Others who have consented to plea deals encompass bail bondsman Scott Hall and former lawyers of Trump, Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis. The co-defendants have evaded jail time and have seen their charges lowered or dropped in return for their cooperation.

Pending is the decision if all of Trump’s co-defendants can expect similar handling. The outlet suggests that former Trump attorney, Rudy Giuliani has not been offered a deal and is believed to face a tough time given the magnitude of his alleged participation in the case. Still, it is reported that the district attorney is open to discuss plea deals with any of the defendants excluding Trump.

Trump is also under serious legal scrutiny in other states including New York, where Trump testified in Letitia James’s case involving financial fraud at the Trump Organization. In this case, the judge levied a $10,000 fine on Trump for violating his mute order and providing not believable testimony. Moreover, in Washington, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows reportedly struck an immunity deal in Jack Smith’s criminal case linking the January 6 riot, this could potentially place Trump in further legal trouble.