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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, August 22, 2023.
Fulton County Sheriff’s Office | via Reuters
Scott Hall, one of 18 co-defendants of former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case, pleaded guilty Friday to multiple criminal charges.
Hall, a bail bondsman, is the first defendant in the case to plead guilty in the case.
Hall confirmed in a court hearing that his plea deal requires him to testify in any further proceedings — including the trials of his co-defendants.
Hall’s change of plea ratchets up pressure on the other defendants in the case, who could face years in prison if convicted on the counts against them.
Hall, who pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts as part of a negotiated deal, will avoid spending time behind bars.
He will serve five years of probation as part of the sentencing agreement, Judge Scott McAfee said during a hearing in Fulton County Superior Court on Friday afternoon.
Hall will also have to pay a total of $5,000 and serve 200 hours of community service, the judge said in that hearing.
Hall was originally charged with seven counts in the case, which alleges an illegal conspiracy by Trump and the other defendants to overturn President Joe Biden‘s electoral victory in Georgia’s 2020 election.
Hall was accused of willfully tampering with electronic voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia, and of working with multiple other co-defendants, including the pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, as part of that effort.
Like all other defendants in the case, Hall had pleaded not guilty to the charges brought by Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis.
But earlier Friday, an attorney for Hall submitted a court filing waiving his indictment in the case.
A spokesman for Willis’ office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Powell and another co-defendant, Kenneth Chesebro, are set to head to trial on Oct. 23 after the Fulton County court granted their requests for a speedy trial.
McAfee earlier Friday denied Chesebro’s bid to dismiss the charges against him.
Meanwhile, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and others have tried to get their cases transferred out of Atlanta and into a U.S. district courtroom.
Trump’s attorneys, who had signaled that they would follow suit, in a court filing Thursday surprised court-watchers by notifying McAfee that they would not try to move the case.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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