Dem
51
GOP
49
There are now so many co-conspirators in Donald Trump's many indictments, some indicted and some not (yet), that more than a few of them are beginning to think seriously about flipping and ratting on The Big Fish to save their own necks. That may not be so easy for all of them because prosecutors are only going to drop or reduce charges if the co-conspirator has valuable information the prosecutors don't already have, or if they could be compelling witnesses at a trial. Still, bit players who never dreamed they would face federal or state charges and could spend years in prison are being suddenly confronted with a real possibility that could happen.
Some of them are starting to adopt a "please don't put me in jail; that other guy did it" strategy. Rudy Giuliani, who is up to his neck in hair dye, and in debt, is now blaming the "crackpot" lawyer Sidney Powell for everything. Sorry, Rudy, you, and not the two-bit player Powell, are going to win the "best supporting actor" award in this drama. Giuliani actively conspired with Trump, lied under oath to the Georgia state legislature, and rounded up some of the fake electors. Powell just egged Trump on, that's all.
One inside source says that Special Counsel Jack Smith is applying maximum pressure to Powell to get her to flip. She may be the first domino to fall, and she could take down some of the others on the way. She may be a crackpot, but if she signs a written statement making it clear that she personally witnessed the others committing a crime (or makes a video saying that), showing that to the other co-conspirators is sure to impress them and put the fear of God (and Smith) into them.
Trump is aware of the problem. Earlier this summer, he asked his legal beagles who would be the most likely to crack under pressure. Could be Powell. When Giuliani and Bernie Kerik (who is not referenced in any indictments) had a 5-hour chat with Smith's lawyers, Kerik's lawyer seemed to be setting Powell up to take the fall. In any event, from Trump's point of view, she is the most expendable of the co-conspirators so getting her to accept the blame might help him. But she probably knows that, which increases the chances of her flipping first.
Ken Chesebro, who wrote the memo describing the fake electors scheme, is trying to blame others. It's true that John Eastman picked up the ball 3 weeks after Chesebro wrote his memo, but Chesebro is the one who wrote it and it won't be easy to blame Eastman for it. Chesebro's lawyer has already admitted that his client wrote the memo (which is not in dispute since Smith has it), but says that he meant it as merely hypothetical and it is Eastman's fault it got acted on. Chesebro is right at the center of the plan and his testimony in court might be valuable to the prosecutors, so he should be working on a plea deal now, not trying to blame someone else.
If Powell and Chesebro go over to the other side and really come clean with everything and separately tell the same story to Smith's lawyers, the others will come under enough pressure that it would turn West Virginia into a land of diamond mines. Giuliani will probably never flip. He's in it too deep and Smith (also Willis) probably wants to make sure he gets jail time, but the other co-conspirators are all in big trouble if Powell and Chesebro swap teams. (V)