Trump Moves to Quash Most Charges Against Him in Georgia
New York TimesSep 17, 2023
The Facts
Atlanta-based bail bondsman Scott Hall, one of former Pres. Donald Trump's 18 co-defendants in the Georgia 2020 election interference case, pleaded guilty on Friday to misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties.
As part of the plea deal, which requires him to testify against other defendants and write a letter of apology to Georgia voters, Hall accepted five years' probation, 200 hours of community service, a $5K fine, and a prohibition on election administration-related activities.
Hall, the first defendant to turn himself in to authorities in August, had been charged with racketeering and six felony counts of conspiracy for allegedly helping breach voting machines inside the Coffee County Board of Elections Registration office in January 2021.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Scott Hall has become the first Trump co-defendant in the Fulton County election interference case to flip, paving the way for potential new information to be used against others as he has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. This move may be a bad sign for Sidney Powell, who was allegedly with Hall in the Coffee County scheme. The dominoes have just begun to fall.
Pro-Trump narrative
It has become crystal clear that the justice system doesn't even care about trying to hide that the Trump Georgia election case is part of a lawfare campaign against the former president. It's a bit too convenient to be a coincidence that the first defendant to plead guilty is someone who was absurdly indicted for being in a room when a voting machine was legally examined.
