Fulton County court: The first domino falls in RICO case. How many more defendants might flip?
[A] plea agreement puts [Scott] Hall [the former Fulton County Republican poll watcher and bail bondsman] on probation for five years in exchange for a guilty plea on the five misdemeanors. He will also pay a $5,000 fine, issue a letter of apology to Georgia voters, serve 200 hours of community service, and agree to avoid activities related to polling or administering elections.
Perhaps most crucially for his 19 co-defendants, he also agreed to testify truthfully in all other proceedings related to the case.
The plea deal is “a good sign for the prosecution,” according to former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani.
“[Fulton County DA Fani] Willis doesn’t want to try 19 defendants,” Rahmani told The Daily Beast. “She wants 18 guilty pleas and one trial against Donald Trump.”
Hall’s deal marked the culmination of his own “prisoner’s dilemma-type situation,” said Rahmani.
“It’s better for all the defendants if they hold the line and refuse to cooperate,” he went on. “But it’s better for each individual defendant to plead guilty and get little or no jail time. In fact, the defendants who plead earliest usually get the best deals. That’s why Hall got a no-time misdemeanor. Because he pleaded first and agreed to testify against the others.” [Continue reading…]