George Conway, a conservative lawyer and frequent critic of former President Trump, said Thursday he expects many of Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case to take plea deals, noting the financial struggles they seem to be experiencing and the difficulty some are apparently having in finding legal representation.
“All of these people, a lot of them, are going to end up having to plead,” Conway said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It’s going to be Trump ending up all by himself or just a couple of other people. And I don’t see how he survives that.”
“As for all the other defendants, I mean, I don’t think there will be 18 defendants by the time this case goes to trial,” Conway said.
He noted co-defendants, such as Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, are reportedly struggling to pay their legal fees and said they likely will have to take plea deals.
“I mean, I think you’re already seeing them in conflict. You’re already seeing different strategies playing out, and you’re seeing that some of these defendants, even Rudy Giuliani, who came down to [Georgia in] a private plane, can’t find a lawyer, and he can’t pay one. He’s gonna have to sell his co-op in New York,” Conway continued, before adding, “Jenna Ellis, no one’s paying her legal fees.”
Trump was indicted in Fulton County, Ga., last week on 13 charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, including making false statements, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer and racketeering. Each of his co-defendants also faces the racketeering charge, which is generally reserved for organized crime.
Trump is set to turn himself in later Thursday and be processed at a jail in the country. Several of his 18 co-defendants have already done so.