Scott Hall, a 59-year-old bail bondsman, became the first defendant in the Georgia election subversion case to plead guilty with prosecutors on Friday.
He is one of the 19 defendants in the Fulton County, Georgia case regarding alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The list of individuals charged includes former United States President Donald Trump.
Scott Hall Pleads Guilty
Hall changed his plea from not guilty and instead pleaded guilty in Fulton County court to five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties. Officials sentenced the defendant to five years probation, a $5,000 fine, and 200 hours of community service.
The indictment said that the defendant was alleged to have helped with the unlawful breach of election equipment and theft of voter data in Coffee County. Hall initially faced seven counts in all, six of which related to those efforts.
The counts that Hall pleaded to on Friday are different from the seven counts that he originally faced. He is now pleading under the Georgia First Offenders Act and his attorneys said that the misdemeanor crimes that their client pleaded guilty to are not "crimes of moral turpitude," as per CBS News.
The defendant had to give a recorded statement to the district attorney's office, which he did earlier on Friday. He was also required to write a letter of apology to the citizens of the state of Georgia for his actions.
Under Hall's plea agreement, he is barred from communicating with any witnesses or co-defendants in the Georgia election subversion case. Additionally, he is not allowed to speak with the media until all of the cases are resolved.
The judge handling the case told the court that this was not a matter that was scheduled for that day, adding that he was told by both parties that they wanted to have an impromptu court hearing. It was not clear what kind of information Hall may be able to provide to the government regarding the case and potentially other defendants.
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Georgia Election Subversion Case
The defendant allegedly spent hours inside a restricted area of the election office when voting systems were breached, which was connected to efforts by pro-Trump conspiracy theorists to find voter fraud, according to CNN.
Hall testified before the special grand jury in the Fulton County case and acknowledged that he gained access to a voting machine at the time. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was the one who brought the sprawling racketeering case last month.
She accuses Hall, Trump, and 17 others of participating in a broad conspiracy to overturn the election results in the Peach State. On Friday, prosecutors in Willis' office signaled that they could soon extend a plea deal to one or both of the two defendants who are heading to trial, lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell.
The latest development in the case could deal a major blow to Powell and comes just weeks before her trial date. Judge Scott McAfee announced in a separate hearing on Friday morning that 450 potential jurors would be called to the courthouse on Oct. 20 to fill out a questionnaire ahead of Powell and Chesebro's trial, said the New York Times.
