Closing the net around Donald Trump
If Sidney Powell’s guilty plea was shocking, the guilty plea from Kenneth Chesebro is downright mind blowing. While Powell was directly involved in breaching voting machines in Coffee County, Chesebro’s admission to involvement in the fake elector scheme could have overwhelming ramifications for Trump in the case filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith in D.C. Chesebro pled guilty to charges related to a memo he wrote for Donald Trump, suggesting that an alternate slate of electors could be sent to Congress to stop the certification of President Biden. In fact, Chesebro admitted during his plea that he “conspired to put forward fake GOP electors in Georgia with Trump, Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman.” None of these defendants has pled guilty, but given Chesebro’s admissions, that may change in the future for Giuliani and Eastman. Trump will never plead guilty.
The New York Times reported that Chesebro’s plea following Powell’s plea “spells only bad news for Trump, Giuliani, and Mark Meadows,” especially since Chesebro has fingered Giuliani. As NYT reported, “Emails obtained by The New York Times show that Mr. Chesebro was considering not only the legality of various maneuvers related to the electors’ scheme … but also their political ramifications, potentially undercutting arguments that he was merely offering legal advice.” Coming up with a scheme to keep a duly elected president out of office certainly has nothing to do with legal advice. He could have given advice that the scheme was illegal had someone else proposed it, but he was one of the masterminds. Chesebro even questioned the legality of the scheme himself, which says it all. His testimony and documents could prove quite valuable to Jack Smith, but Chesebro’s lawyer, Scott R. Grubman, told NYT that such testimony and cooperation would be unlikely because he’s already pleaded. That’s true, but this is a different court. He could very well be called to testify, and his plea in Georgia would have no bearing on the case in D.C. Trump’s attorney Steven Sadow claims that because Chesebro’s RICO charges were dismissed, Chesebro’s testimony is favorable to Trump. That’s what you call “posturing.” Just because the charges have been dismissed against Chesebro doesn’t automatically dismiss them against Donald Trump.
Trump has, of course, denied his involvement with Sidney Powell. Expect him to do the same with Chesebro. He typically claims not to know people when they say anything negative about him. This will be no different. Say what you want about Fani Willis, but she is knocking them down one by one. By the time she gets to Donald Trump, the other defendants will bury him. Chesebro knew what he was doing was wrong, as even he called it “a controversial strategy.” He further admitted that he “created and distributed false Electoral College documents” and that he “worked in coordination with” Trump’s campaign. Getting him is a huge victory for Willis and may well result in Eastman and Giuliani pleading guilty. When that happens, we’ll see if Donald Trump blows up Truth Social from over-ranting.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years