Trump ally Scott Hall agrees to plea deal in Georgia elections case

Reuters

Published Sep 29, 2023 03:53PM ET

Updated Sep 29, 2023 04:51PM ET

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.

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.