Current:Home > ContactKenneth Chesebro rejected plea offer ahead of Georgia election trial: Sources -ProsperityStream Academy
Kenneth Chesebro rejected plea offer ahead of Georgia election trial: Sources
NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-10 13:44:31
One of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case rejected a plea deal from prosecutors ahead of his trial this month, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, one of the 18 defendants charged alongside Trump in Fulton County case racketeering case, rejected an offer from prosecutors, the sources said.
The deal would have allowed Chesebro to avoid prison time by pleading guilty to one felony count of racketeering, the top charge in the indictment, according to the sources.
MORE: Jury selection to begin Friday in first Georgia election interference trial
He would have had to agree to testify against his codefendants -- including Trump -- in exchange for three years' probation and a $10,000 fine.
The terms of the deal also included a written letter of apology, the sources said. The deal would have been made under Georgia's first-offender act, under which the conviction would have been wiped from Chesebro's record after probation was completed.
Chesebro rejected the deal in late September, the sources said. He is facing seven counts after allegedly drafting a strategy to use so-called "alternate electors" to prevent Joe Biden from receiving 270 electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election, according to the indictment.
An attorney for Chesebro declined to comment to ABC News. A spokesperson for the Fulton County district attorney's office also declined to comment.
Chesebro's trial, alongside co-defendant Sidney Powell, is set to begin this week after the pair opted for a speedy trial. Jury selection gets underway on Friday.
Earlier in September, a Fulton County prosecutor indicated in court that they intended to extend deals to Chesebro and Powell ahead of trial.
"We'll sit down and kind of put some things together and we'll reach out to defense counsel individually to extend an offer," said prosecutor Nathan Wade when pressed by the judge.
Later that day, one of the 19 charged in the indictment became the first to accept a deal in the case. Scott Hall pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties in exchange for immunity and a fine, and agreed to testify against Trump and others.
In early October, ABC News reported that a number of the defendants in the Fulton County case had received plea deal offers or had been approached about potentially making a deal by the district attorney's office, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.
The former president has blasted the district attorney's investigation as being politically motivated.
veryGood! (2361)
Related
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- What Heather Rae and Tarek El Moussa Are Doing Amid Christina Hall's Divorce From Josh Hall
- Maika Monroe’s secret to success in Hollywood is a healthy relationship to it
- Family of Alabama man killed during botched robbery has 'long forgiven' death row inmate
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- U.S. Navy exonerates Black sailors unjustly punished in WWII Port Chicago explosion aftermath
- The Vampire Diaries' Torrey DeVitto Says She Quit Show Due to Paul Wesley Divorce
- 6 people found dead in Bangkok Grand Hyatt hotel show signs of cyanide poisoning, hospital says
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Chicago Sky trade Marina Mabrey to Connecticut Sun for two players, draft picks
Ranking
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- Florida man arrested after allegedly making death threats against Biden
- Don't believe Texas is ready for the SEC? Nick Saban does. So should you.
- Raymond Patterson Bio
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Lucas Turner: Investment Opportunities in Stock Splitting
- Crooks' warning before rampage: 'July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds'
- Almost 3.5 tons of hot dogs shipped to hotels and restaurants are recalled
Recommendation
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
Book excerpt: Night Flyer, the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman
Navy exonerates Black sailors in deadly 1944 port blast. Families say it was long overdue.
Lucas Turner: Investment Opportunities in Stock Splitting
What to watch: O Jolie night
Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu not in WNBA All-Star 3-point contest
There are 1 billion victims of data breaches so far this year. Are you one of them?
Report: WNBA agrees to $2.2B, 11-year media rights deal with ESPN, Amazon, NBC