Legal Ethics Bonus Content No. 4 - Sidney Powell Pleads Guilty (10.19.23)

Breaking news - she gets 6 years probation + fines and must write an apology to the citizens of Georgia

Welcome to your fourth installment of bonus content from the Legal Ethics Roundup!

In addition to the (FREE!) weekly roundup every Monday morning, I regularly post bonus content for paid subscribers. This material offers a deeper-dive into issues touched upon in the weekly roundup and sometimes covers breaking news that can’t wait until Monday, like this week! (If you need a comp paid subscription to read this full bonus content post, let me know at legalethics@substack.com - no questions asked. Otherwise, thank you for reading and supporting this work!)

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Politico (and numerous other outlets) reported this morning that attorney Sidney Powell entered a guilty plea, making “her the first member of Trump’s close advisers to admit to crimes related to the 2020 election.” Recall from my Bonus Content No. 1 post that Powell was one of eight lawyers indicted with the former president in Fulton County, Georgia.

Powell’s trial was to begin on Monday. Instead, she has admitted to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties.

According to the Politico article, Powell was asked by Judge McAfee:

“Are you pleading guilty today because you agree that there is a sufficient factual basis, that there are enough facts that support this plea of guilty?”

“I do,” Powell said.

She was sentenced to six years of probation and she must write Georgia citizens an apology letter. She must also pay a $6,000 fine and restitution of $2,700. The full article is here.

This is the first criminal sentence for Powell, but not her first sanction for involvement in the election fraud litigation.