Oct. 28, 2023 - Epoch Times
05:37
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| Time | Text |
|---|---|
| Over in the state of Georgia, President Trump, as well as 18 other defendants, are facing charges related to the 2020 election. | |
| Specifically, this case was brought forth by state prosecutors under the RICO law, which stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. | |
| This is an extremely broad and powerful law which is currently on the books in 33 different states as well as at the federal level. | |
| And it's used to essentially allow prosecutors to combat mob-style criminal activity. | |
| Essentially, the way that the law is designed allows prosecutors to target the kingpin who typically intentionally keeps themselves several steps removed from the actual crimes being committed on the ground. | |
| And so in plain English, this means that the Georgia state prosecutors, they are charging this whole case as if it was a case involving the mafia, with the idea being that President Trump was the kingpin leading everyone else in the commission of this election crime. | |
| And among the defendants was this woman right here, Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell. | |
| Now, if you remember back to the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, it was Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell who was bringing forth lawsuits across the whole country, challenging the results of the official ballot counts. | |
| But whether she was doing that on her own behest, or whether she was working with President Trump's campaign team, well, that was always a bit of a question mark. | |
| That's because shortly after the election, President Trump issued this message right here on Twitter saying that, among other things, Sidney Powell will be working alongside Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, and his other lawyers in order to spearhead their legal effort. | |
| Meaning that she would be his attorney. | |
| And then also in that same month, Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell appeared alongside Rudy Giuliani and Trump's other lawyers at a press conference discussing the 2020 election. | |
| However, in the timeframe of about a week, the Trump team began distancing themselves from Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell. | |
| For instance, towards the end of November, specifically on November the 22nd, just about a week after President Trump sent out that initial tweet, the Trump campaign's legal department, they issued a clarification saying that Sidney Powell was never part of the actual legal team. | |
| Here is, in fact, the statement that was released by Trump's legal team again on November 22nd of the year 2020. | |
| Quote,"...Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. | |
| She is not a member of the Trump legal team. | |
| She is also not a lawyer for the president in his personal capacity." Now, at the time, Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell issued a statement of her own saying that she agreed with the campaign and that she would continue to pursue legal action on her own separate from Trump's legal team. | |
| Here was a part of her statement that was released again back in November of the year 2020. | |
| Quote, I agree with the statement today. | |
| I will represent we the people and seek the truth. | |
| I intend to expose all the fraud and let the chips fall where they may. | |
| And indeed, just as she said she would, after Trump's campaign caught ties with Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell, she continued to file her own independent election-related lawsuits across the whole country, in Arizona, in Georgia, in Michigan, as well as in Wisconsin. | |
| Now, those cases didn't really go anywhere, but regardless of that, though, the reason that she was included in this Georgia State RICO case is actually not tied to her election lawsuits. | |
| Rather, it's tied to something that took place over in Coffee County, Georgia. | |
| It's a rural county over in Georgia. | |
| Quote, Essentially, this was a plan to copy the files on the election machines in that county to prove out election fraud, although that plan never really went anywhere. | |
| Regardless, though, while initially Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell was fighting the charges against her, saying that, for one, she was not Trump's lawyer, so she should not be included in the RICO case, that she never asked for the election files to get copied, and that she only paid for the files because the company that did copy them was allegedly extorting her. | |
| That was the argument she was making, but all that is a bit irrelevant now. | |
| That's because three days ago, Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell accepted a plea deal from the prosecutors. | |
| Specifically, instead of going to trial on seven felonies, instead, Ms. | |
| Powell pleaded guilty to only six misdemeanors, for which she will be given six years of probation as well as a $6,000 fine, which is significantly less than the actual jail time that she was facing if she were to be found guilty. | |
| Here's, in fact, a short video of her accepting the plea deal. | |
| Do you understand that by pleading guilty, you are giving up the right to a trial by jury? | |
| Yes. | |
| Do you understand that by pleading guilty you're giving up the right to remain silent and not to incriminate yourself? | |
| Yes. | |
| Do you understand that by pleading guilty you're giving up the right to confront witnesses that the state may bring to testify against you? | |
| Yes. | |
| I apologize. | |
| How do you plead to the six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties? | |
| Guilty. | |
| Do you understand the nature of the charges that have been reaccused and that you would be pleading guilty to today? | |
| I do, sir. | |
| And you've heard all the rights that the state has gone through that you would waive by going forward with this plea. | |
| Do you still wish to waive those rights? | |
| I do. | |
| And 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? | |
| However, outside of the reduced sentence, well, there's actually something else. | |
| Because she took the plea deal, Ms. | |
| Sidney Powell will now be required to testify against the other co-defendants if the prosecution asks her to, including against President Trump himself. | |
| Now, in terms of his reaction, just yesterday, President Trump took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, to issue a response to Sidney Powell and her plea deal. | |
| Here's part of what he said, and just for your reference, well, as ridiculous as it sounds being here in America, well, I will have to block out parts of a statement, otherwise the YouTube algorithm will likely just take down this entire episode. | |
| That's just the world we live in. |
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