Last week, one of the more significant stories on the Trump trial front was the guilty plea by Sidney Powell.
While Trump talked about her quite often while fighting the election results of 2020, he is now trying to create some distance between himself and Powell.
Sydney Powell, while never technically being hired by Donald Trump as his attorney, clearly had taken up his cause after the 2020 election.
One of Powell's more notable press conferences was held with Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Powell was one of 19 people indicted in the Georgia election fraud cause brought by Fulton County DA Fani Willis.
Last week, she pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor charges rather than go to trial facing seven felony charges.
This allowed Powell to avoid jail time, receiving six years of probation and a $6,000 fine, and she had to submit a letter of apology to Georgia and its residents.
She has also agreed to testify against other codefendants if called upon.
John Fishwick, a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, called this plea deal a "significant win" for Fani Willis, adding:
"This is somebody who was at ground zero of these allegations and a lawyer who is pleading guilty. This is very significant."
Steve Sadow, the lead attorney for Trump in the Georgia case, is taking a positive approach to the plea deal, stating:
"Assuming truthful testimony in the Fulton County case, it will be favorable to my overall defense strategy."
After the plea deal was made, there were reports that Trump's legal team was in shell shock and trying to figure out how this would impact Trump's case in Georgia.
Trump, however, was more occupied with the fraud case in New York.
Finally, on Sunday, Trump addressed the guilty plea on Truth Social, posting:
"Despite the Fake News reports to the contrary, and without even reaching out to ask the Trump Campaign, MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS.
"Powell was one of millions and millions of people who thought, and in ever increasing numbers still think, correctly, that the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLLEN, AND OUR COUNTRY IS BEING ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT!!!"
I was waiting to see how Trump would address this, wondering if he would spit venom or use a soft touch to try to keep Powell on his side.
Trump carefully chose his words here, knowing that Powell could bury him if she turned against him.
This is a problem for Trump, and now two other attorneys have also pleaded guilty in the case.
Willis overcharged these defendants on purpose because this was precisely what she wanted to see.
By the time Trump goes to trial, she would be quite happy to have 18 plea deals in her hand to counter any claims that Trump will make during that trial.
It will be hard to defend the narrative that the election was rigged when 18 people who were codefendants have already agreed they lied about the narrative and pleaded out in the case.
Willis is looking for one head here, and if she keeps getting these plea deals, she may get it.
