One of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants, in Georgia, has just become the first co-defendant to plead guilty.
The co-defendant, according to Newsmax, is bail bondsman Scott Hall.
Hall is one of the 19 defendants, including Trump, whom Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has indicted. Willis alleges that Trump and the other defendants committed various crimes when they attempted to challenge Georgia's results in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump vehemently denies the allegations, maintaining that Willis' case is political - that it is designed to interfere with his 2024 presidential campaign.
Hall was specifically indicted by Willis for breaching the Coffee County election office on Jan. 7 with the intent to interfere with election activities.
Of the 19 co-defendants, Hall was the first to surrender to Georgia authorities in August. Now, he is the first to reach a plea deal with prosecutors.
As part of the plea deal, The Hill reports that Hall has pled guilty to "five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties."
In exchange, Hall has managed to avoid jail time.
Instead, The Hill reports:
Hall was sentenced to five years probation, a $5,000 fine, and 200 hours of community service. He also cannot participate in any “polling activities” while on probation, must write a letter of apology to Georgia citizens, and must testify honestly in any future proceedings in the case.
The Hill's report states that, as part of the plea deal, Hall "must testify honestly in any future proceedings in the case."
The big question now is whether the prosecution is planning on using Hall to support its case against Trump.
Legal experts have warned that, in all of the cases that Trump is facing, one of the key strategies of the prosecution will be to try to flip witnesses against Trump. These experts have pointed out that, particularly in the Georgia case, the likelihood is that Willis indicted at least some individuals - not because they did anything egregiously illegal - but in order to try to threaten them with jail time should they not agree to testify against Trump.
The concern for Trump, now, is that this is what Willis's team is doing - and has done - with regard to Hall. The Hill reports, "Hall shook hands with Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade when leaving the courtroom after entering his plea."
This will certainly be something to keep our eyes on as this case proceeds.
