Trump's Crimes & Investigations

[goldenvalley]

Sept 7, 2023 21:40:46 GMT indy said:

Another one bites the dust.

Peter Navarro convicted of contempt for defying Jan. 6 panel subpoena

Seems like a slam dunk but I thought Bannon's case was too.  Now Navarro's case will go on appeal.  He's one of the guys who could never get appointed to a government position in the absence of someone like Trump. He was so clearly a fringy guy.  I don't know why any university had him on faculty, though to be fair economics is a mystery to most people even in the academic world.

[goldenvalley]

I've been ignoring the lesser defendants in 1/6 cases but the Zip Tie Guy and his mom captured my imagination from the time I saw them in the live coverage of 1/6.  They're going to jail...guy for 5 years and mom for 2.   This just makes me laugh because mommy dear is clearly the source of her son's behavior:

On Jan. 7, 2021, Mr. Munchel and his mother both gave interviews to The London Times.

“What is America for?” Ms. Eisenhart told the paper. “I’d rather die as a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression. I’d rather die and would rather fight.”

I hope Donald J. Trump is worth going to jail for a couple of years.

[indy]

Yeah, I saw Enrique Tarrio, Mr Proud Boy, was sentenced to 22 years too. My understanding is that the federal system requires he serve a minimum of 85% of the sentence, so he should be closing in on 60 by the time he gets out assuming he is good boy.

[indy]

Soooo...let me see if I understand, since at no time BT (before Trump) would I have I ever expected to read this sentence. Trump was recycling classified documents as a note pad to hand out to people? And to think Reality Winner was put away for what, five years for handing out classified documents?

One of former President Donald Trump's long-time assistants told federal investigators that Trump repeatedly wrote to-do lists for her on documents from the White House that were marked classified, according to sources familiar with her statements.

abcnews.go.com/US/trump-wrote-lists-assistant-white-house-documents-marked/story?id=103226113

[goldenvalley]

Sept 19, 2023 0:14:45 GMT indy said:

Soooo...let me see if I understand, since at no time BT (before Trump) would I have I ever expected to read this sentence. Trump was recycling classified documents as a note pad to hand out to people? And to think Reality Winner was put away for what, five years for handing out classified documents?

One of former President Donald Trump's long-time assistants told federal investigators that Trump repeatedly wrote to-do lists for her on documents from the White House that were marked classified, according to sources familiar with her statements.

abcnews.go.com/US/trump-wrote-lists-assistant-white-house-documents-marked/story?id=103226113

LOL.  The man had no conception of what he was doing in terms of classified material.  The only papers he thought were important were the ones he tried to flush down the toilets or that he ripped up (and staffers spent time taping them back together).  I doubt those papers were classified in the formal sense, but probably stuff he thought he didn't want the outside world to see. 

[indy]

Sept 19, 2023 0:27:22 GMT goldenvalley said:

Sept 19, 2023 0:14:45 GMT indy said:

Soooo...let me see if I understand, since at no time BT (before Trump) would I have I ever expected to read this sentence. Trump was recycling classified documents as a note pad to hand out to people? And to think Reality Winner was put away for what, five years for handing out classified documents?

abcnews.go.com/US/trump-wrote-lists-assistant-white-house-documents-marked/story?id=103226113

LOL.  The man had no conception of what he was doing in terms of classified material.  The only papers he thought were important were the ones he tried to flush down the toilets or that he ripped up (and staffers spent time taping them back together).  I doubt those papers were classified in the formal sense, but probably stuff he thought he didn't want the outside world to see. 

'The man had no conception of what he was doing in terms of ...' could be completed with any government function or most anything at all. In fact, the only words I can think of that wouldn't work are 'lying' and 'cheating'.

[indy]

Aug 30, 2023 18:22:54 GMT goldenvalley said:

Aug 30, 2023 18:10:37 GMT indy said:

So far,  it is only a default judgement and sanctions reimbursing costs to the plaintiffs for him not complying with the judge's discovery orders which involved trying to actually determine Giuliani's financial condition. The discovery order was not lifted and Giuliani still has to comply for the trial to determine damages. If he still doesn't comply, the judge will instruct the jury that he is intentionally hiding his financial assets in order to pretend to be poor.

Is he pretending?  I'm expecting a bankruptcy filing before long.  If he gets his price for the apartment, how much of it goes to past unpaid legal fees?  What is the status of legal fees in a bankruptcy proceeding anyway?   If he has $$ hidden away somewhere, won't someone notice that he is keeping lawyers on his payroll (so to speak)?

Has anyone in the history of the country managed to trash their own legacy better than Rudy? Maybe Bobby Fischer? At least his great games remain great.

Rudy Giuliani’s former lawyer sued him Monday, alleging the ex-New York City mayor has paid only a fraction of nearly $1.6 million in legal fees he’s racked up from investigations into his efforts to keep Donald Trump in the White House.

Robert Costello and his law firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, say Giuliani has paid them just $214,000 and still has a $1.36 million tab. Giuliani’s last payment, according to the lawsuit, was $10,000 on Sept. 14 — about a week after Trump hosted a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser for Giuliani at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.

apnews.com/article/rudy-giuliani-donald-trump-legal-bills-2578a0ef6203c34c3338b78ebbfad5ab

[goldenvalley]

Sept 19, 2023 19:21:30 GMT indy said:

Aug 30, 2023 18:22:54 GMT goldenvalley said:

Is he pretending?  I'm expecting a bankruptcy filing before long.  If he gets his price for the apartment, how much of it goes to past unpaid legal fees?  What is the status of legal fees in a bankruptcy proceeding anyway?   If he has $$ hidden away somewhere, won't someone notice that he is keeping lawyers on his payroll (so to speak)?

Has anyone in the history of the country managed to trash their own legacy better than Rudy? Maybe Bobby Fischer? At least his great games remain great.

Rudy Giuliani’s former lawyer sued him Monday, alleging the ex-New York City mayor has paid only a fraction of nearly $1.6 million in legal fees he’s racked up from investigations into his efforts to keep Donald Trump in the White House.

Robert Costello and his law firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, say Giuliani has paid them just $214,000 and still has a $1.36 million tab. Giuliani’s last payment, according to the lawsuit, was $10,000 on Sept. 14 — about a week after Trump hosted a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser for Giuliani at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.

apnews.com/article/rudy-giuliani-donald-trump-legal-bills-2578a0ef6203c34c3338b78ebbfad5ab

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.  He seems like a trite figure out of a Western...upright sheriff turns bad because he envied the baddies for the money and power they had. 

[goldenvalley]

At least he is holding the weapon right side up, but this strikes me as him being as awkward as he was holding the Bible during the protests. I guess he didn't handle hand guns during his stint in military boarding school in his youth!

I'm posting this only because of the photo.  There is some question as to whether he actually bought it.  

[goldenvalley]

The former president lost in the fraud case brought by the State of New York.  The court granted the State's summary judgment motion, finding that there are no facts in dispute on the liability issue.

Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans.

Engoron ordered that some of Trump’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York, and said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee Trump Organization operations.

More specifically:

Engoron’s decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse.

Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance costs, Engoron found.

Those tactics crossed a line and violated the law, the judge said, rejecting Trump’s contention that a disclaimer on the financial statements absolved him of any wrongdoing.

“In defendants’ world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies,” Engoron wrote in his 35-page ruling. “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”

There are still issues to be adjudicated and a bench trial will be held on them.

[indy]

I read through the decision and the judge was scathing in it. He also sanctioned the attorneys for their third use of arguments that both he and an appellate court had twice before told them was immaterial to the case. He even declined to sanction them the second time and went with a warning, saying that he trusted that he had made his point. But nope, they brought them up a third time. Pretty good indication that it was the only defense they could come up with.

I mean most of the stuff was an argument over 'current market value' of his properties that---since we are dealing with Trump here---were just assertions that somebody, somewhere, would pay $X for them if this development actually existed and/or was 3 times the size that had been tentatively approved, or weren't subject to the restrictions that currently exist. For example, in order to get favorable property tax treatment for Mar-A-Lago, Trump gave up all rights to the property except as a social club. But he valued it as if that restriction didn't apply and even then overvalued it anyway. He claimed his apartment in NY was 30,000 square feet when it is 10,000 and then actually came to court and said that, well, you know, people use different methods to measure square footage which basically caused the judge to have the judicial equivalent of a conniption fit.

I think what's left and subject to trial is to what extent, if any, Trump should be 'disgorged' of his fraud enabled profits. The judge invalidated the business certificates for Trump's companies in NY but I'm not sure, practically speaking, what the fall out from that will be.

Also noteworthy is that Trump has sued this particular judge for supposedly ignoring an appellate ruling. It's a pretty standard play in his playbook and I think he has sued all the judges in his cases so far for something or other.

[goldenvalley]

Sept 27, 2023 12:09:00 GMT indy said:

I read through the decision and the judge was scathing in it. He also sanctioned the attorneys for their third use of arguments that both he and an appellate court had twice before told them was immaterial to the case. He even declined to sanction them the second time and went with a warning, saying that he trusted that he had made his point. But nope, they brought them up a third time. Pretty good indication that it was the only defense they could come up with.

I mean most of the stuff was an argument over 'current market value' of his properties that---since we are dealing with Trump here---were just assertions that somebody, somewhere, would pay $X for them if this development actually existed and/or was 3 times the size that had been tentatively approved, or weren't subject to the restrictions that currently exist. For example, in order to get favorable property tax treatment for Mar-A-Lago, Trump gave up all rights to the property except as a social club. But he valued it as if that restriction didn't apply and even then overvalued it anyway. He claimed his apartment in NY was 30,000 square feet when it is 10,000 and then actually came to court and said that, well, you know, people use different methods to measure square footage which basically caused the judge to have the judicial equivalent of a conniption fit.

I think what's left and subject to trial is to what extent, if any, Trump should be 'disgorged' of his fraud enabled profits. The judge invalidated the business certificates for Trump's companies in NY but I'm not sure, practically speaking, what the fall out from that will be.

Also noteworthy is that Trump has sued this particular judge for supposedly ignoring an appellate ruling. It's a pretty standard play in his playbook and I think he has sued all the judges in his cases so far for something or other.

I thought Christopher Kise was supposed to be some sort of miracle lawyer.  I guess no matter how good the lawyer's reputation is there is only so much the lawyer can do to put lipstick on a pig of a case.  Using the same arguments that lost twice in the same case is probably the result of two things...1) there is nothing to argue with and 2) the lawyer can't convince the client to concede and seek a settlement outside of court. 

[indy]

Sept 27, 2023 16:09:59 GMT goldenvalley said:

Sept 27, 2023 12:09:00 GMT indy said:

I read through the decision and the judge was scathing in it. He also sanctioned the attorneys for their third use of arguments that both he and an appellate court had twice before told them was immaterial to the case. He even declined to sanction them the second time and went with a warning, saying that he trusted that he had made his point. But nope, they brought them up a third time. Pretty good indication that it was the only defense they could come up with.

I mean most of the stuff was an argument over 'current market value' of his properties that---since we are dealing with Trump here---were just assertions that somebody, somewhere, would pay $X for them if this development actually existed and/or was 3 times the size that had been tentatively approved, or weren't subject to the restrictions that currently exist. For example, in order to get favorable property tax treatment for Mar-A-Lago, Trump gave up all rights to the property except as a social club. But he valued it as if that restriction didn't apply and even then overvalued it anyway. He claimed his apartment in NY was 30,000 square feet when it is 10,000 and then actually came to court and said that, well, you know, people use different methods to measure square footage which basically caused the judge to have the judicial equivalent of a conniption fit.

I think what's left and subject to trial is to what extent, if any, Trump should be 'disgorged' of his fraud enabled profits. The judge invalidated the business certificates for Trump's companies in NY but I'm not sure, practically speaking, what the fall out from that will be.

Also noteworthy is that Trump has sued this particular judge for supposedly ignoring an appellate ruling. It's a pretty standard play in his playbook and I think he has sued all the judges in his cases so far for something or other.

I thought Christopher Kise was supposed to be some sort of miracle lawyer.  I guess no matter how good the lawyer's reputation is there is only so much the lawyer can do to put lipstick on a pig of a case.  Using the same arguments that lost twice in the same case is probably the result of two things...1) there is nothing to argue with and 2) the lawyer can't convince the client to concede and seek a settlement outside of court. 

The fraud was just so obvious what could they say? They didn't really defend it so they danced all around instead arguing about standing, disclaimers, etc. You could really tell the judge had had enough. Kise was out this morning saying the judge doesn't know what he is talking about. That's probably not gonna go over well either.

[goldenvalley]

One of the Kracken lawyer's accomplices plead guilty and to testify against others in the Georgia case.  To me this and the stuff about trying to get the Secy of State to "find" votes is the reason for this case to exist.

Prosecutors had alleged in a 98-page indictment unsealed last month that Hall served as a lynchpin of a secretive effort to access and copy elections software in remote Coffee County, working alongside pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, who allegedly retained the forensic data firm that accompanied Hall and others to Coffee County. As part of his efforts to turn evidence of voter fraud, Hall gained the ear of top officials not just in Georgia but also in Washington.

In the weeks after the election, Hall held meetings or had phone conversations with leaders of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, according to people involved. Prosecutors say that on Jan. 2, 2021, he had a 63-minute phone call with Jeffrey Clark, a senior Justice Department official accused of plotting to delegitimize the vote in Georgia and other states and galvanize slates of contingent pro-Trump electors.

Hall’s alleged immersion in the broader effort to undo Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia — and his agreement Friday to testify “honestly” in forthcoming trials — could affect the fortunes of those with whom he is alleged to have interacted. That includes pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, whose own trial in the case is set to begin Oct. 23, and former Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark.

The felony charges were reduced to misdemeanors as part of the deal.

[jackd]

I doubt that Trump's phone call, by itself, is going to be sufficient to convict him. The claim, of course, is likely to be he wanted the ballots scrutinized "more carefully" for fraud or miscount. I'm guessing there's more.

[indy]

Yeah, I don't think the phone call in isolation would get him convicted of anything either.

[goldenvalley]

We all knew this was coming.  Quoting the whole TPM article:

Donald Trump on Thursday asked for the first time that the D.C. election interference case against him be dismissed, saying that everything he was accused of was covered by his “absolute immunity” as President.

The motion to dismiss came two days after prosecutors in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office remarked that Trump’s attorneys had spent time talking on TV about how they intended to file a motion to dismiss based on a presidential immunity argument, but had not yet done so, instead filing various motions seeking to delay the proceedings.

But now that it’s filed, the motion to dismiss asks U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan for the District of Columbia to throw out the case by finding that all of the allegations against Trump are covered by presidential immunity — that is, he can’t be prosecuted for his efforts to reverse his loss because they fell within his official duties as President.

To do this, Trump’s attorneys do not concede that he lost the 2020 election. Instead, they maintain that there were legitimate allegations of fraud to be investigated, smuggling in that idea to make a broader argument that Trump’s efforts were grounded in law.

“Urging his own Department of Justice to do more to enforce the laws that it is charged with enforcing is unquestionably an official act of the President,” Trump’s attorneys write at one point. At another, early on, they say that “the prosecution falsely claims that President Trump’s motives were impure—that he purportedly ‘knew’ that the widespread reports of fraud and election irregularities were untrue but sought to address them anyway.”

As dozens of courts, including judges Trump appointed, said in 2020, there was nothing to address. The claims themselves came either from opportunists or from Trump’s inner circle, while The Donald himself seized on them publicly to spread the dubious claims, before they were then used as basis of something “to address.”

Smith also emphasized in the indictment that the allegations against Trump were outside the scope of his office; Trump said in the motion to dismiss that Smith was trying to second-guess him by falsely asserting that his “motives were impure.”

The core of Trump’s argument rests on a Nixon-era lawsuit which gave the President broad immunity for acts taken while in office. But, the Supreme Court in that instance gave presidents civil, not criminal liability. Trump is asking the court to “extend” that principle, which immunizes presidents up to the “outer perimeter” of civil liability for acts undertaken while in office, to criminal cases. They argue that allowing Trump to face criminal liability for acts he took while in office would create a profound separation of powers conflict.

“To hold otherwise would be to allow the President’s political opponents to usurp his or her constitutional role, fundamentally impairing our system of government,” Trump’s attorneys write.

It’s an argument visibly intended for the Supreme Court. The motion is replete with references to how the “history and tradition” of the country do not include the prosecution of former presidents. Trump’s attorneys at one point reference the contested election of 1824, when, as some of the former President’s acolytes wanted in 2020, the result was kicked to a vote in the House of Representatives.

In that case, as in others, Trump and his attorneys elide the basic fact: there was no real fraud, or credible allegation of fraud, that could give rise to a dispute.

Smith tailored his indictment of Trump to that issue, insisting that wild allegations of fraud in the vote were “pretext” for efforts to hold onto power.

Trump’s attorneys try in the motion also to throw a few other arguments at the wall, seeing what might stick: the Senate already acquitted Trump in a February 2021 impeachment trial; “Two Hundred Thirty-Four Years of History and Tradition Support Presidential Immunity from Criminal Prosecution.”

So far, the judge who will first hear this, Judge Chutkan, has been sharp in calling out Trump and his attorneys when they try to abuse the process. Trump’s attorneys said that they intend to file further motions outlining other reasons for why they believe the case should be tossed.

But they do focus in the motion to dismiss on the separate schemes out of which Smith built the election interference indictment. Trump mostly argues that his alleged acts fell within the scope of his duties as President, but that argument takes a more revealing tone when applied to the fake electors plot.

Trump wrote that the fake electors gave Vice President Mike Pence an “alternative option” to certify. Without them, the motion reads, Trump’s efforts would have been rendered futile.

That, he argued, relates to two core presidential functions; “protecting the integrity of federal elections, and urging Members of Congress to act in a manner consistent with the President’s view of the public good.”

There’s no further elaboration on how they construe “view of the public good.”

Here's the motion to dismiss: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148.74.0_1.pdf

[goldenvalley]

The "gag order" hearing in the 1/6 case is going on now. Trump's lawyer is smart and a good performer which is important in a defense lawyer. Yet I have to wonder how he sleeps at night...

Lauro responded that “there is no imminent threat” to the prosecutors and that Trump’s statements are covered by the First Amendment, before saying the Biden administration was “bordering on authoritarianism” and “veering towards tyranny.”

The last phrase...describes his client's proclivities. What it has to do with any gag order escapes me. Yet with a straight face and a flourish he's projecting it onto someone not involved in the case. Maybe he'll be one of the lucky one or two Trump lawyers that will get paid most of his fees...

[goldenvalley]

The order came down.  Seems in line with what the judge in the New York State case did.

The gag order, she said in a ruling issued from the bench after a hearing, will prohibit all parties from statements “publicly targeting” special counsel Jack Smith, his staff, her staff or “any other court personnel.” Statements about the families of those individuals are “absolutely prohibited as well.”

Even before the order was issued, Trump’s lawyer John Lauro said they would appeal any such order, as it would affect important free speech principles, particularly for a leading candidate for president.

Trump “can argue that this prosecution is politically motivated,” the judge said, but he cannot disparage the prosecutor by calling him a thug or “vilify and implicitly encourage violence against public servants who are simply doing their jobs.”
She is also barring Trump and all parties from making statements about witnesses in the case.

[goldenvalley]

Out of his mouth...and the crowd goes wild!  But does Trump realize they are cheering for him to go to jail to save democracy, the same thing that people who support the other party are hoping for?  Come to think of it, does the crowd realize how their cheering can be interpreted?

[Bact PhD]

Sept 29, 2023 21:05:21 GMT goldenvalley said:

One of the Kracken lawyer's accomplices plead guilty and to testify against others in the Georgia case.  To me this and the stuff about trying to get the Secy of State to "find" votes is the reason for this case to exist.

Powell takes a plea deal (bold mine).

www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/19/pro-trump-lawyer-sidney-powell-pleads-guilty-georgia-election-interference-case

Just one day before jury selection was set to begin in her criminal trial, pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally conspiring to interfere with Georgia elections.

Powell admitted guilt to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties. She agreed to pay a $6,000 fine and $2,700 in restitution to the state of Georgia, turn over documents and testify truthfully in her co-defendants’ trials.

She is the second of former president Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case to accept a plea deal and agree to testify against her co-defendants. The other is bail bondsman Scott Hall.

[goldenvalley]

Oct 19, 2023 15:03:06 GMT Bact PhD said:

Just one day before jury selection was set to begin in her criminal trial, pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally conspiring to interfere with Georgia elections.

Powell admitted guilt to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties. She agreed to pay a $6,000 fine and $2,700 in restitution to the state of Georgia, turn over documents and testify truthfully in her co-defendants’ trials.

She is the second of former president Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case to accept a plea deal and agree to testify against her co-defendants. The other is bail bondsman Scott Hall.

I'm hoping she is going to testify or has turned over evidence against Giuliani. Otherwise the sentence seems pretty weak.  I seem to recall someone actually employed in the elections office in Coffee County was working with them.  That's a person who should see jail time...the job is to keep elections secure.  Turning equipment over for "inspection" by private "auditors" when not directed to by legal means is a dereliction of the job.

[indy]

I don't think they made this kind of a lenient deal with her strictly over the elections office stuff. It would be pretty disappointing if they did. The only way it makes sense to me is if she has information to offer about the other counts against other bigger fish, namely Trump and Giuliani.

[Bact PhD]

And another one bites the dust: Chesebro takes a plea deal, the second to do so in as many days:

www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/20/chesebro-guilty-plea-trump-georgia/

Kenneth Chesebro, a former lawyer for Donald Trump’s campaign, pleaded guilty Friday to illegally conspiring to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. The plea came in just hours after jury selection began in the highly anticipated case, ahead of an expected trial next month.

Chesebro pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to file false documents, and faces a prison sentence of one to five years. He also agreed to truthfully testify in the case against others.

And now for the musical question: Who will be next to take a plea deal?? Tune in Monday, same time, same channel, for the next episode of “As the Worms Turn”…

This gem from the comments:
"When you're guilty and you know it cop plea, (clap, clap)..."

[goldenvalley]

Oct 20, 2023 17:02:02 GMT Bact PhD said:

And another one bites the dust: Chesebro takes a plea deal, the second to do so in as many days:

www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/20/chesebro-guilty-plea-trump-georgia/

Kenneth Chesebro, a former lawyer for Donald Trump’s campaign, pleaded guilty Friday to illegally conspiring to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. The plea came in just hours after jury selection began in the highly anticipated case, ahead of an expected trial next month.

Chesebro pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to file false documents, and faces a prison sentence of one to five years. He also agreed to truthfully testify in the case against others.

And now for the musical question: Who will be next to take a plea deal?? Tune in Monday, same time, same channel, for the next episode of “As the Worms Turn”…

This gem from the comments:
"When you're guilty and you know it cop plea, (clap, clap)..."

There was a lot of complaining about the Georgia indictment being not important compared to the federal indictments back when it was filed. Yet the Georgia indictment actually laid out the whole plot to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election in a way that the 1/6 indictment did not.  And now we see at least one of the unnamed co-conspirators (Powell probably) pleading guilty to her part of the overall plot in the Georgia case and giving a statement and probably written evidence that can be used in the federal case. You can bet she'll be subpoenaed to testify in that case. Chesebro perhaps too. I don't specifically recall if he was an unnamed co-conspirator in the federal indictment.  Two pieces have fallen into place without the Special Counsel having to treat these two as defendants from the get go.  Could be another superseding indictment but I suspect the evidence they can give is more valuable than a conviction on a federal charge.

ETA: Having said that I do feel a twinge of sympathy for the stupid schlubs that showed up on 1/6 because their president asked them to and are now serving time.  It's only a twinge though.  

ETA 2.0: I'm done feeling the twinge of sympathy.  These folks didn't have to go to DC on 1/6.  They chose to believe what seemed unbelievable to most of us. They spent their own money to go. Plus, don't they know that if you lie down with dogs you can get fleas from them? 

“Gobsmacked is certainly an appropriate description considering the sentences that have been imposed against others who believed the lies spread by Donald Trump, Sidney Powell and others,” said Bjorn Brunvand, whose client Robert Palmer was sentenced by Judge Tanya Chutkan to 63 months in prison for assaulting officers at the U.S. Capitol. “The rules we all share are not applied equitably to all. Frequently, deals are made with the highest-ranking players in criminal conspiracies, while the pawns receive the most significant sentences.”

The mob bosses always do better than the underlings.