One of former US President Donald Trump’s 18 defendants, charged with his illegal attempt to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia, pleaded guilty on Friday.
The 19 defendants named in the indictment issued on August 14 in Atlanta, the state capital, under the Organized Crime Control Act, have so far pleaded not guilty.
Initially facing seven charges, Scott Hall, 59, pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy to interfere with election duties during a hearing before Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine and 200 hours of community service.
He also pledged to write a letter of apology to Georgia voters and to testify in the upcoming trials of the other defendants.
Not everyone will be tried at the same time, with attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebrough calling for a speedy trial beginning on October 23.
No trial date has been set for the other defendants
No appointments have yet been set for the remaining 16 members, including Mr. Trump and his former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Donald Trump, the favorite in the Republican primary, is condemning his legal troubles like many othersElectoral interference
Instigated by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden to exclude him from the race for the White House in 2024.
Unlike the sprawling proceedings in Georgia, the case being investigated at the federal level by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, for alleged illegal attempts to reverse the results of the vote won by Joe Biden, targets only one defendant: Donald Trump.
The trial is scheduled to begin in federal court in Washington on March 4, and is expected to last about four weeks, according to Jack Smith.
In Georgia, the prosecution expects the trial to last four months.
