Many rioters who stormed the Capitol received long prison sentences. Sidney Powell, an architect of the effort to subvert the election, negotiated a misdemeanor plea deal and cooperation agreement.
When Sidney Powell, a top ally of Donald Trump, pleaded guilty Thursday to crimes associated with the 2020 election, lawyers for many Jan. 6 defendants were stunned by her relatively meager sentence: six years of probation and a modest fine.
For years, those lawyers — and some judges — have lamented that the thousands who breached the Capitol were used as pawns and dupes by Trump, Powell and their associates in a bid to subvert the election. So Powell’s plea was the first taste of accountability for Trump’s inner circle. Yet her punishment, Jan. 6 defense lawyers noted, paled in comparison to even some of the low-level offenders who entered the Capitol that day and now face consequences that may dog them for life.
This is a ridiculous take. The plea deal was in a Georgia state RICO case, the rioters were tried in federal courts for totally different crimes. Powell, Cheese Bro, et al. still face charges in Jack Smith’s inquiry.
My understanding is that Powell’s charges in GA were mostly related to some voting machine shenanigans in one county. Whatever else she may have done - fake lawsuits in 49 non-Georgia states, propaganda inciting mobs, even if she had, herself, stormed the Capitol - weren’t part of Georgia state charges.
Jimmy McGill is going to try every possible whining, ridiculous take to get his clients preferential treatment, though. That’s why Jan 6 rioters better call Saul.