Two lawyers who pleaded guilty in the election case in Georgia offered one-sentence apologies, according to newly published apology letters.
“I apologize for my actions in connection with the events in Coffee County,” lawyer Sidney Powell wrote in one of the letters.
“I apologize to the citizens of the State of Georgia and of Fulton County for my involvement in Count 15 of the indictment,” Kenneth Chesebro wrote in another.
Ms. Powell and Mr. Chesebro did not return requests for comment.
A third letter was penned by Scott Hall, a bail bondsman who also pleaded guilty in the case. Mr. Hall wrote that he wished he had never become involved in the “post-election activities that brought me before the court.”
He added, “Although I certainly did not mean to violate any laws, I now realize that I did and have accepted responsibility for my actions.”
A lawyer representing Mr. Hall did not respond to an inquiry.
The letters were required of individuals who plead guilty in the case, which centers around former President Donald Trump’s challenge in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Prosecutors say 19 people, including President Trump, violated laws, including Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Fani Willis, the Democrat district attorney of Fulton County who presented the charges to a grand jury, said that the apology letters needed to include “real contrition” but that they did not need to be long.
“In fact, all I would rather is a sentence [sic]. But I think it’s important,” Ms. Willis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ms. Ellis said that she believed challenging the election on behalf of President Trump was the right thing to do.
“What I did not do but should have done, Your Honor, was to make sure that the facts the other lawyers alleged to be true were, in fact, true,” she said. “In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence. If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges. I look back on this whole experience with deep remorse.”
Guilty Pleas
Mr. Hall was the first defendant to plead guilty. He admitted in September to committing the misdemeanor of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties.Mr. Hall avoided jail time but has to complete five years of probation. He was also ordered to pay a fine, do 200 hours of community service, and pen the apology letter.
Ms. Powell in October pleaded guilty to six counts of misdemeanor conspiracy, with a similar punishment as Mr. Hall.
“Are you pleading guilty because you agree there is a sufficient factual basis, that is, there are enough facts that support this plea of guilty?” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee asked at the time.
“I do,” Ms. Powell said.
Ms. Ellis pleaded guilty to the felony of aiding and abetting false statements and writings. She said allegations she made about the 2020 election were false, including that 10,315 dead people in Georgia voted in the election.
Ms. Ellis was ordered to complete five years of probation and 100 hours of community service, write an apology, and pay a fine.
All four individuals who have entered guilty pleas have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Some of the remaining defendants could argue they were acting under the direction of Mr. Chesebro, who was representing President Trump, John Malcolm, vice president of the Institute for Constitutional Government for Heritage Foundation, told The Epoch Times previously.
“That’s going to pose problems for all the people who followed his advice,” he said.
Some of the remaining defendants, but not all, have publicly said they won’t be taking plea deals.
Pretrial motions for most of the remaining defendants are due in January 2024. It’s during that process, Ms. Willis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that prosecutors get “the most amount of pleas.”
