Analysis | Trump’s lawyers turn against him in election interference case

One by one, Trump’s lawyers and other close personnel have been taking plea bargains in his election interference case. Photo courtesy of WikiCommons

Donald Trump is facing multiple incriminating charges in the Georgia election interference case against him — and now his legal team is switching sides. 

Following Trump’s unsuccessful attempt at reelection in 2020, it is alleged that the former president conspired to tamper with the election results, specifically in Georgia. After a narrow loss, a new state law required a hand recount of the votes. The uncounted ballots changed the margin of Trump’s loss but still left Biden leading in the state. Trump and 18 of his allies were then accused of engaging in criminal activity in an attempt to overturn the election results. 

But now, his accomplices are turning on him.

“The common practice in a case like this is, you start at the bottom and work up,” Chapman law professor Denis Binder told The Panther. “So you get those at the bottom to flip, and then you hope to build a case as you go farther up the ladder. And, the whole goal here is to get Trump.”

The prosecution team on the case were aiming to crack Trump’s inner circle. Once they got the first one, more began to follow.

Trump supporter Scott Hall was the first co-defendant to plead guilty on Sept. 29. He was facing seven felony charges for interfering with voting equipment and data in Georgia. The plea deal included a $5,000 fine, 200 hours of community service and a written apology to Georgia residents. 

Soon after Hall came Trump’s lawyer Sidney Powell on Oct. 19, just four days before her trial would’ve started. She was sentenced to six years of probation and a $6,000 fine, and she was also ordered to give Georgia residents a written apology. Powell had been one of the most vocal election fraud believers, giving several public speeches where she conspired about Trump’s loss. 

The next day, fellow Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro also pleaded guilty. He would’ve gone to trial the next week alongside Powell, facing seven criminal charges, but he only pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy under his plea deal. He also gets to keep his law license under this deal, whereas some of the other charges would have resulted in him losing it. Chesebro faces five years of probation.

Most recently, a third lawyer took a plea deal on Oct. 24. Jenna Ellis pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting false statements and writings after continuously supporting Trump in his accusations of election fraud. She was sentenced to five years of probation, a $5,000 fee and 100 hours of community service and, like Powell and Hall, must write an apology letter to Georgia. 

“Since they pled guilty, they’re stuck with that,” Binder said. “They’re stuck now, it doesn’t matter what happens to Trump. If they pleaded guilty, that’s it. And, if they have to testify in any of the cases, the fact that they pleaded guilty can be used against them.”

The prosecution team striking up plea bargains with defendants can be harmful to the case against Trump and the other 14 co-defendants. All four of the allies who took the deal also agreed that they would hand over any and all documents related to the case, and they will also be inclined to testify against any of the defendants. 

“I’m not a trial lawyer, but if asked, I never would’ve taken that case,” Binder said.

This is only one of the four criminal cases currently attached to Trump’s name.

“I personally don’t think they have much of a case against the Trump administration or anything like that,” Chapman Republicans president Charlie Sisk said. “But, I think (the lawyers) think someone knows something they don’t, so they’re gonna want to get their chips off the board as soon as possible. As soon as one person cracks, they just kind of go.” 

Trump is also facing legal consequences in New York for falsifying documents to cover up hush payments made during a sex scandal. He faces 34 charges in this case. 

In Florida, he has 37 charges against him, all relating to the classified documents he illegally took home with him to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home, following the end of his presidency in 2021. 

On a federal level, Trump is also being charged on four counts for his involvement with Jan. 6 and the attack on the Capitol.  

But, the Georgia case may be the most damaging.

19 people in total are listed on the indictment. Trump faces the most charges of any other defendant in the case. Some of the charges being held against him are for falsified documents, soliciting public officers, influencing witnesses and election fraud.

Trump faces a total of 41 charges in the case.

“I think it was mainly a targeted attack. (Judge Tanya Chutkan) went there knowing that she wanted to look for something in particular, instead of looking at the case as a whole. I think she was just looking at ways that she could scare Trump’s attorneys and indict him as soon as possible,” Sisk said.

The case is set to go to trial on March 4 of next year.