One of the 19 defendants charged with former President Trump, Scott Hall, has a counsel who says his client can now “get on with living his life.” Hall and his lawyer, Jeff Weiner, have agreed to a plea bargain with the Georgian district attorney’s office for Fulton County.
Hall was charged in August by a grand jury for allegedly interfering with the state’s 2020 presidential election. Following the Friday plea deal, Weiner spoke exclusively with Fox News and indicated that Hall’s intent—rather than the case’s facts—was the key concern.
“I am convinced that he had no criminal intent,” Weiner said. “I am absolutely certain that he is a good man.”
Following President Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election, Hall, a bail bondsman, went to the isolated Coffee County in Georgia to look into claims of election fraud.
Weiner claims that Hall “believed a lot of the things that Donald Trump and others in his camp were saying and so he got involved to find out for himself what was going on.”
“My client was a very curious patriotic American,” Weiner said. “He regrets that he got involved with all that.”
Hall will complete 200 hours of community service, five years of probation, and $5,000 in fines as part of the plea agreement.
After that, “the nightmare will be over and he can get on with living his life,” Weiner said.
Weiner claimed that he and his client took into account the potential length of a trial when coming to an arrangement.
“To live with an indictment like that, it affects your life. It affects your health. Now, it’s over,” Weiner said.
Hall entered a plea of guilty to five counts of conspiring to interfere deliberately with the conduct of an election. From the seven felony charges he was facing in the indictment, these are misdemeanours.
The plea agreement required weeks to negotiate, according to Weiner, who also praised the prosecutor’s office for being “professional, polite, and courteous.”
As a condition of that agreement, Hall agreed to give testimony if the state decides to use him as a witness in subsequent court cases involving the case. Weiner asserted that he thought it was extremely improbable to occur.
“I’m not sure he will be called,” Weiner said. “He really doesn’t have any knowledge beyond what is already known and in the indictment.”
Hall is the first defendant to accept a plea agreement, and Weiner, a criminal defence lawyer with 50 years of experience, said he believes it’s feasible that additional defendants will now desire plea agreements as well.
Weiner asserted that he thinks a number of the other defendants are in a position similar to that of his client, where they accept the facts of the case but maintain their innocence of conduct.
“I’ve won cases that I’m surprised I won,” Weiner said. “I’ve lost cases that I thought I should’ve won. Any experienced, competent criminal lawyer knows there are no guarantees in front of a jury. While I’m confident I could’ve won in front of a jury… the risk of felony charges, it wasn’t worth it for my client.”
Weiner asserted that he thinks additional defendants might come to the same decision.
