Unprecedented Turn of Events: Trump's Future Hangs in the Balance with Back-to-Back Plea Deals

Two staunch supporters of former President Donald Trump have recently changed their stance, a shocking development that could significantly jeopardize his defense against potential criminal charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. These swift developments serve as a significant advantage for the prosecution in both Fulton County, Georgia, and the federal lawsuit led by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, which are separate yet interrelated.

On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, Judge Arthur Engoron leads the proceedings for the fraud trial involving former President Donald Trump at the New York Supreme Court in New York City. The trial is captured in the image above, with Dave Sanders capturing the photograph as part of the pool photos for the Associated Press (AP).

Dave Sanders/Pool/AP

Donald Trump fined $5,000 for violating gag order in New York fraud trial and warned twice about imprisonment

The pleas demonstrate that the Georgia case against Trump and his co-defendants is gaining strength. Despite Trump's determination to fight until the end, these recent plea agreements have placed his co-defendants in a tough position: either strike a deal or take their chances at trial.

Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, both prominent Trump co-defendants, seem to have been motivated to cooperate due to the imminent five-month trial, which could potentially lead to lengthy prison terms.

Their decisions to shift from staunch supporters of Trump to pivotal witnesses against him have most likely dismantled any perception of invulnerability that the ex-president or his co-defendants might have been harboring - potentially marking the first instance of such vulnerability.

Implicating Trump

Chesebro confessed on Friday to a felony conspiracy charge, acknowledging his involvement with Trump and other individuals from the former president's inner circle in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. They achieved this by presenting bogus Republican elector slates in various states that were lost by Trump.

By implicating Trump directly in a criminal conspiracy, Chesebro's plea establishes the illegality of the fake electors scheme. Importantly, Chesebro has now admitted that the main objective of this conspiracy was to disrupt and delay the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. This admission is a crucial component of the federal charges facing Trump.

Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, seen in this image taken on Oct. 10, 2023, in Atlanta, appears before Judge Scott MacAfee during a motions hearing. The trial for Chesebro, the first defendant in the Georgia case that alleges former President Donald Trump and others engaged in an illegal plot to overturn the 2020 election in the state, is about to commence. (Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Alyssa Pointer/pool/AP

Kenneth Chesebro: Pro-Trump lawyer pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case, implicates Trump in fake elector conspiracy

Chesebro admitting to the court that the scheme involving counterfeit electors aimed to undermine the Electoral College process and violate the US Constitution and federal law aligns with the accusations made against Trump in Smiths federal indictment. Additionally, Powell, a former lawyer for the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges connected to an independent yet supporting endeavor to manipulate Georgia's voting systems during the 2020 election.

Although Powells guilty plea solely pertains to the breach of election equipment in Coffee County, Georgia, her agreement with prosecutors allows for the possibility of providing testimony regarding direct interactions with Trump and other significant co-defendants. Should she be summoned to testify in a subsequent trial, Powell may be questioned about her presence at White House meetings where Trump contemplated drastic measures to overturn the 2020 election results, such as potentially instructing the Pentagon to seize voting machines.

Chesebro has also reached an agreement to fully cooperate with investigators from Fulton County. As part of this agreement, he is willing to testify against Trump and other defendants, if needed.

Although Trump is currently the only person facing charges in the federal case, both Chesebro and Powell are unindicted co-conspirators. Chesebro has now admitted his involvement in the fake elector plot, a significant aspect of the federal case against Trump, which is scheduled for trial in March.

No silver bullet

Steve Sadow, the main attorney representing Trump in the Georgia election subversion lawsuit, replied on Friday, insinuating that Chesebro's admission of guilt was probably driven by the "impending risk of imprisonment."

In a statement, he suggested that Chesebros' guilty plea was a direct consequence of the pressure exerted by Fani Willis and her team, as well as the imminent threat of imprisonment by the prosecution.

Trump's legal representative further emphasized that prosecutors dropped the separate racketeering charge against Chesebros, which forms the foundation of the indictment against all 19 co-defendants, including the former president. It is noteworthy that the RICO charge has been dismissed against all three defendants who have already reached plea agreements.

But just because a onetime Trump loyalist has decided to help prosecutors go after him, that doesnt mean the former president is doomed.

Michael Cohen

CNN

Michael Cohen, former lawyer of Trump, will testify at Trump's fraud trial on Tuesday. The presence of the former president in court is expected. In 2018, Cohen reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors and implicated Trump in an illegal campaign finance conspiracy. However, the Justice Department did not charge Trump with that alleged crime. Nevertheless, Cohen has cooperated with New York state investigators and is scheduled to provide testimony against Trump at his civil business fraud trial in the upcoming week.

Sadow dismissed the potential impact of Chesebro and Powell's testimony in Trump's future trial regarding the charges of subverting the Georgia election.

"I firmly believe that their truthful testimony would actually support my defense strategy," Sadow stated.

This story has been updated with additional information.