Trump ally Scott Hall agrees to plea deal in Georgia elections case
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[September 30, 2023]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump ally and former Republican
poll watcher Scott Hall on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiring to
interfere with Georgia's elections as part of the former U.S.
president's attempts to overturn his 2020 defeat.
Hall so far is the only one of 19 defendants, including Trump, to plead
guilty in Fulton County, Georgia's conspiracy case, one of four criminal
prosecutions that have ensnared the frontrunner for the Republican 2024
nomination.
A live video of a court proceeding showed Hall pleaded guilty to five
counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the
performance of election duties, a misdemeanor charge. The plea agreement
calls for Hall to be sentenced to five years of probation and pay a
$5,000 fine, a prosecutor said at the hearing. |
![](../images/093023PIX/news_l97.jpg)
Republican poll watcher Scott Hall is shown in a police booking mugshot
released by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, after a grand jury
brought back indictments against former U.S. President Donald Trump and
18 of his allies in their attempt to overturn the state's 2020 election
results in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. August 22, 2023. Fulton County
Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo |
He
will also be required to testify against other defendants in the
case.
Lawyers for Hall did not immediately return requests for
comment.
Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman, initially faced charges of
racketeering as well as conspiracy to commit election fraud and
computer crimes. He was accused of taking part in an unlawful
breach of voting equipment in rural Coffee County in the
southeastern part of the state in January 2021.
Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, one of two defendants set to
stand trial beginning next month, is also accused of taking part
in the breach. Powell has pleaded not guilty.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and said the case is part of a
political witch hunt.
Trump faces criminal charges in four cases. He is also under
indictment in Florida for his handling of classified documents
after leaving office, in Washington for his efforts to overturn
the 2020 election and in New York over hush money paid to a porn
star before the 2016 election. Trump has denied wrongdoing and
pleaded not guilty in those cases as well.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward, Andrew Goudsward and Jack Queen;
Editing by Caitlin Webber, Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)
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