Former Trump attorney, election denier Sidney Powell pays restitution to Ga. Secretary of State

Justin Gray
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Former Trump attorney and prominent election denier Sidney Powell delivered a restitution check to the state of Georgia on Halloween.

The $2,700 check was made out to the Georgia Secretary of State.

Paying the restitution is part of Powell’s October guilty plea in Fulton Superior Court. As part of her plea deal, she also agreed to six years’ probation, a $6,000 fine and to provide a letter of apology to the people of Georgia.

“If you didn’t believe the three recounts, if you didn’t believe the investigations, if you didn’t believe the court cases, this check shows you she says, yes, I lied,” said Georgia Secretary of State Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

So far, four people in the sprawling, 19-defendant election interference Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations case have pled guilty, including former Trump attorneys Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro.

“The damage that was done is incalculable. You can’t put a monetary figure on it, but this is at least a start,” Sterling told reporters from the south steps inside the State Capitol.

In the audience at the capitol, Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray spotted members of the Senate Ethics Committee, who told Gray they were there to see if Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger would be speaking.

Raffensperger had been called to testify at an ethics hearing later in the afternoon about why he’s waiting until after the 2024 election to update the Dominion software on state voting machines.

The Secretary of State sent staff to testify instead. He was in south Georgia for what state department staff said was a previously scheduled event.

TRENDING STORIES:

“It would be helpful for the American people and the people of Georgia to know exactly where the Secretary of State stands on this,” Senator Max Burns, who chairs the Ethics Committee, said.

“We would like to see them move more quickly,” Burns said of the software upgrade.

But he made it clear in the Senate hearing that he was not questioning the integrity of the state’s elections.

“I have complete confidence in the Georgia voting system as it exists today,” Burns said.

Gray asked Sterling why the state was waiting until 2025 to upgrade the election software.

“It takes tens of thousands of man hours to do this and also, it’s never been tested,’ Sterling said.

State law requires the software to be certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

That happened in March.

Sterling said they are now piloting the new software in five municipal elections and want to be sure there are no bugs or problems before rolling the new program out statewide.

“We’re piloting it right now. So far it looks really good,” he said.

“If that’s the case, then what is the purpose of delaying to 2025? Why can we not continue to roll this out across our state?” Burns countered.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS: