Legal Experts Eisen, Weissmann, And Copeland Discuss Kenneth Chesebro Plea Deal In Georgia Case And Its Ramifications
Washington, DC — On Monday, October 23, top legal experts discussed the significance of attorney Kenneth Chesebro’s plea deal in the Fulton County 2020 Election Interference case in an online press briefing. The press briefing was hosted by Democracy 21 Education Fund.
Chesebro’s plea, obtained on Friday, is the third guilty plea Fulton County DA Fani Willis has obtained in the case, which is about former President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. On Thursday, attorney Sidney Powell took a plea deal in the case.
Here’s what some of the country’s top legal experts — including Amb. Norman Eisen (ret.), former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann, and Amy Lee Copeland, former Appellate Chief at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Georgia — had to say about the plea deal and its implications for this case, the former President, and the federal case:
On the significance of the Chesebro and Powell plea deals:
Eisen: “Last week was an important one in the march toward accountability for the events of January 6 and the long period of assault on the 2020 election that preceded that tragic day. … It seems to me that in the Georgia case, the way to think about this is that Donald Trump’s assault on the 2020 election stood on two legs. One was the factual assertion that he was the actual winner. And Sidney Powell was one of the main pushers of those arguments. The other was the legal assertion that facially defective and false electoral certificates could be utilized by the Vice President on January 6 while presiding over the meeting of Congress to refuse to recognize the rightful winner of the presidential election and instead perpetuate himself and his boss, Donald Trump, in office. These guilty pleas pulled the rug out from under both of those legs of the assault on the election.”
On Chesebro’s participation in the attempt to overturn the election:
Eisen: “There have been some statements about Chesebro being a marginal figure. No. When you plead guilty to a felony of conspiracy – to do the false documents [and] be a part of promulgating and propagating the false documents that are at the core of this assault on the 2020 election – that is not fringe or marginal. That’s at the very center. With [attorney John] Eastman and [attorney Rudy] Giuliani, Chesebro was a main architect of this scheme.”
On the claim by Chesebro’s lawyer that Chesebro did not believe the “Big Lie” was true:
Weissmann: “I think if [Chesebro] did not believe in the ‘Big Lie’ and still did what he did, that makes what he did worse not better. … I think it might have been a statement [by Chesebro’s lawyer] that was trying to make him more palatable publicly. But from a criminal law perspective, if he engaged, as he now has said he did, in the fake election scheme – which is so core to what happened here in terms of overthrowing the Georgia and federal election – and he didn’t in fact believe that it was a big lie, that to me makes it worse not better.”
On Chesebro’s cooperation with the prosecution against other defendants:
Eisen: “He has agreed to testify truthfully. If he does that, given the documentary record, that will absolutely bury Trump in the Georgia case. I think Chesebro has put himself in a position where he’s going to have no choice now but to very seriously consider negotiating with [Special Prosecutor] Jack Smith. He’s an unindicted co-conspirator. He’s confessed his guilt as to the state analog of the conspiracy. … Chesebro has put himself in a position to be Trump’s worst nemesis in the state case, and I think eventually in the federal one. … [T]he Powell plea was important, the Chesebro plea even more important. ”
Weissmann: “I think that John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani are probably the people who could be most hurt by [Chesebro’s] testimony because he would have direct conversations to recount. I don’t believe he had direct conversations [with Trump]. … He might have had indirect conversations with Donald Trump, but it doesn’t mean that [Chesebro’s plea] couldn’t hurt because he could lead to other people cooperating.”
On the timing of the election interference trial in Georgia:
Copeland: “I don’t see anything in the foreseeable future. We could be looking at the summertime, depending on how much time the March 4th [Jan. 6] trial takes in DC.”
On what the plea deals mean for the future of the case:
Copeland: “I think the next people that would be the logical choices to plead would be Cathy Latham and Misty Hampton from the Coffee County scheme. … If you remember Bugs Bunny cartoons from your youth, where the small snowball would then turn into a giant avalanche, that’s kind of what I’ve been going on in the short term here. The people turn in other people, who make it grow and spread.”
Eisen: “Above all, I would be concerned if I were the former President, both because of the effects in Georgia and the likely impact federally.“
Weissmann: “It is not ideal to be agreeing to testify truthfully in state court when you’ve got this looming federal liability out there. … This leads to a lot of leverage on the part of Jack Smith and a lot of precariousness for the defense team as to how they’re going to proceed.”
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Additional Resources:
Democracy 21: Brief from Prominent Former Judges & Justice Dept. Officials in GOP Administrations Supporting Georgia’s Request to Bar Consideration of Chesebro’s “Profoundly Mistaken Legal Position” in Election Interference Case
Just Security: Matthew A. Seligman – “Analysis of the Lawfulness of Kenneth Chesebro’s Elector Plan Under Federal Election Law”
Salon: Norman Eisen and Joshua Kolb – “MAGA lawyers take a sweetheart deal for democracy. Trump should be frightened: Why the Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell plea deals matter”
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