The apology letters written by two lawyers once allied with former President Donald Trump as a condition of their plea deals in the Georgia election interference case were released on Thursday, and multiple people on social media have commented about not being impressed by the messages.
The letters from lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro were obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an open records request. Both letters are exactly one sentence long and handwritten on lined notebook paper. A third letter, from bail bondsman Scott Hall, was longer.
Powell, Chesebro, Hall and former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis were required to write the letters as part of the terms of plea agreements they reached this fall with prosecutors from Fulton County. Ellis read her letter in court.
Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who spearheaded the election interference case, via email on Thursday night for comment.
Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
“I apologize for my actions in connection with the events in Coffee County,” Powell wrote in her letter dated October 19.
“I apologize to the citizens of the state of Georgia and of Fulton County for my involvement in Count 15 of the indictment,” Chesebro wrote in his October 20 letter.
Katie Phang, a lawyer and host of a show on MSNBC, was among those who commented on X, formerly Twitter, about the letters.
“These letters from Chesebro and Powell are…underwhelming,” Phang wrote.
These letters from Chesebro and Powell are…underwhelming.
— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) December 14, 2023
“To be filed under ‘THAT’S AN UNDERSTATEMENT'” law professor/attorney Andrew Weissmann wrote in response to Phang’s message. “No jail time, eventual expungement of criminal record, and court sign-off on crimes not being of moral turpitude (so can continue to practice law)—all the consequences for engaging in attempted overthrow of US presidential election.”
“‘Member when you were forced to say I’m sorry when you didn’t mean it? That’s all this is,” another X user wrote. “Hall’s is a little bit palatable, but Chesebro and Powell just scribbled a few words, completely inauthentic.”
“Yeh,…not feeling like the Powell and Chesebro ones are very heartfelt,” read another X post.
Powell and Chesebro were both initially charged with felony racketeering and six other felony counts. Powell pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors related to interfering with the election, while Chesebro pleaded guilty to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents.
Hall, who pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts for his role in accessing elections equipment, showed more remorse in his five-paragraph letter.
“I wish I had never involved myself in the post-election activities that brought me before the court,” he wrote in part.
Ellis was initially charged with violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law and soliciting the violation of oath by a public officer. She eventually pleaded guilty to one felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings.
“What I did not do but should have done, Your Honor, was to make sure that the facts the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true,” Ellis said when tearfully reading her letter in court on October 24. “In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.