EXCLUSIVE – The attorney for one of the 19 defendants indicted alongside former President Trump says his client, Scott Hall, can now “get on with living his life.” Hall and his attorney, Jeff Weiner, have reached a plea deal with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in Georgia.
A grand jury indicted Hall in August on charges stemming from alleged election interference in the state’s 2020 presidential election. Weiner, who spoke exclusively with Fox News after reaching the plea agreement Friday, said the issue for Hall was not the facts of the case, but his intent.
“I am convinced that he had no criminal intent,” Weiner said. “I am absolutely certain that he is a good man.”
Former President Trump speaks during a rally, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Hall, a bail bondsman, traveled to Georgia’s rural Coffee County to investigate allegations of election fraud following President Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.
GEORGIA INDICTMENT: FIRST TRUMP CO-DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY IN FULTON COUNTY COURT
According to Weiner, 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.”
Under the plea deal, Hall will serve five years of probation, pay $5,000 in fines and perform 200 hours of community service.
Scott Hall’s mugshot. He is alleged to have helped former President Trump allies access voting equipment. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
After that, “the nightmare will be over and he can get on with living his life,” Weiner said.
In reaching the agreement, Weiner said he and his client considered the uncertainty of how long a trial would last.
“To live with an indictment like that, it affects your life. It affects your health. Now, it’s over,” Weiner said.
Hall pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties. Those are misdemeanor charges, down from the seven felony charges he faced in the indictment.
In this image made from video from Judge Scott McAfee’s virtual Zoom hearing, Scott Graham Hall, left, stands with his attorney Jeff Weiner, right, in Superior Court of Fulton County before Judge McAfee, not pictured, in Courtroom 5A on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Atlanta. (USA Today via AP, Pool)
Weiner revealed that the plea deal took weeks to negotiate and added that the DA’s office was “professional, polite, and courteous.”
Part of that deal was that Hall will have to testify if the state chooses to call him as a witness in future court proceedings related to the case. However, Weiner said he believes it is very unlikely to happen.
“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.”
Former President Trump’s mugshot. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
Hall is the first defendant to take a plea deal and Weiner, who has 50 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney, said he thinks it is possible other defendants will now want plea deals as well.
Weiner said he believes several of the other defendants are in a similar situation as his client, where they do not dispute the facts of the case, but insist they had no intent for wrongdoing.
“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’s 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.”
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Weiner said he believes other defendants may reach the same conclusion.