Current:Home > FinanceKenneth Chesebro rejected plea offer ahead of Georgia election trial: Sources -Capitatum
Kenneth Chesebro rejected plea offer ahead of Georgia election trial: Sources
View
Date:2025-04-16 11:37:38
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! (7357)
Related
- Organizers cancel Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over fears of an attack
- Ariana Grande Shares Touching Tribute to Victoria Monét After 2024 Grammys Win
- Red carpet looks from the 2024 Grammy Awards
- California power outage map: Over 400,000 customers with no power after heavy downpours
- Kourtney Kardashian Cradles 9-Month-Old Son Rocky in New Photo
- Taylor Swift stirs controversy after alleged Céline Dion snub
- Here’s how 2 sentences in the Constitution rose from obscurity to ensnare Donald Trump
- Phoebe Bridgers and Bo Burnham Enjoy Date Night as a Couple at the 2024 Grammys
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Taylor Swift makes Grammys history with fourth album of the year win for 'Midnights'
Ranking
- Tony Hawk drops in on Paris skateboarding and pushes for more styles of sport in LA 2028
- Prince Harry Returning to U.K. to Visit Dad King Charles III Amid Cancer Diagnosis
- Here’s how 2 sentences in the Constitution rose from obscurity to ensnare Donald Trump
- A 19-year-old man who drowned in lake outside SoFi Stadium was attending concert: Reports
- Residents in Alaska capital clean up swamped homes after an ice dam burst and unleashed a flood
- Horoscopes Today, February 2, 2024
- 16-year-old killers of U.K. transgender teen Brianna Ghey sentenced to life in prison
- Kingsley Ben-Adir takes on Bob Marley in the musical biopic One Love
Recommendation
Vance jokes he’s checking out his future VP plane while overlapping with Harris at Wisconsin airport
Taylor Swift stirs controversy after alleged Céline Dion snub
King Charles III Diagnosed With Cancer
Looking back, Taylor Swift did leave fans some clues that a new album was on the way
Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016
Taylor Swift wore white dress with black accessories on Grammys red carpet
Could cash payments ease recessions?
Kingsley Ben-Adir takes on Bob Marley in the musical biopic One Love
Like
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Who will run the US House in 2025? Once again, control could tip on California swing districts
- Senators release border-Ukraine deal that would allow the president to pause U.S. asylum law and quickly deport migrants