Defendants who took plea deals in the Georgia election interference case were required to write apology letters to the state's citizens. Jenna Ellis, a former member of Donald Trump's legal team, chose to read hers aloud in court, saying she regretted her role in Trump's efforts to overturn the election results and looked back on the "whole experience with deep remorse." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained letters from three other defendants under an open records request, and two of them from other former Trump lawyers are very short.
- Sidney Powell, who pleaded guilty to reduced charges on Oct. 19: "I apologize for my actions in connection with the events in Coffee County."
- Kenneth Chesebro, who took a plea deal the next day: "I apologize to the citizens of the State of Georgia and of Fulton County for my involvement in Count 15 of the indictment."
Bail bondsman Scott Hall's letter was longer. He was accused of conspiring with Powell and others to access election equipment in Coffee County without authorization and was the first of Trump's co-defendants to take a plea deal. "I wish I had never involved myself in the post-election activities that brought me before the court. I have never before been in trouble with the law and | meant no harm to anyone," he wrote. "Although I certainly did not mean to violate any laws, I now realize that I did and have accepted responsibility for my actions."
Fulton County DA Fani Willis told the Journal-Constitution earlier this week that it is important to show "real contrition" in order to move on if "you do something wrong that impacts the community." "The contrition doesn't have to be some poetic melody. It doesn't have to be pages and pages," she said. Sometimes you just need 'I'm sorry.'" All four defendants were sentenced to probation but no jail time and, under Georgia's first offender law, their records will be wiped clean if they stay out of trouble during the probation period, the AP reports. (More Georgia indictment stories.)
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