A state appeals court in New York on Thursday suspended Kenneth Chesebro, who struck a plea deal with prosecutors pursuing the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump, from practicing law there.
In a ruling Thursday, the court found that Chesebro’s felony conviction in his criminal complaint in Fulton County, Georgia, over his efforts to overturn Trump’s election loss in that state “categorically meets the definition of a serious crime in this state” and justified the decision. to prevent him from becoming a lawyer in New York.
According to the ruling, his suspension was “effective immediately and until further notice” of the court.
Chesebro was indicted in Fulton County along with Trump and 17 other co-defendants in August 2023 in connection with efforts to overturn Trump’s defeat in the state to President Joe Biden. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Chesebro was indicted on seven counts, and in a plea deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty last October to one count of conspiracy to file false documents and agreed to testify in the case.
Chesebro helped devise a strategy to create fake pro-Trump voters in Georgia and other states he lost to Biden, the indictment alleged.
An attorney for Chesebro did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
After Chesebro’s deal was reached last year, his attorney, Scott Grubman, said it was incorrect to characterize Chesebro as the architect of a scheme to circumvent democracy.
Some legal groups filed ethics complaints against Chesebro with the New York Supreme Court Complaints Committee in 2022.
One of the groups, The 65 Project, which had cited the bogus electoral scheme and argued in its complaint that there was a “serious risk” that Chesebro would repeat the conduct unless the New York Supreme Court took action, praised Chesebro’s suspension in a statement. Thursday.
“Ken Chesebro’s suspension of his law license should serve as a stark warning of what will happen when attorneys violate their oath as officers of the court by knowingly lying to undermine democracy,” said the executive director of the group, Michael Teter.
Chesebro was admitted to practice law in New York in 2007. He is also licensed to practice in Massachusetts, California, Texas, Florida and Illinois, the court said.
His suspension is the latest example of the discipline lawyers are facing for their efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss.
Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer who helped Trump challenge the 2020 results, lost his law license in New York in July and was disbarred in Washington DC last month. Jenna Ellis, another Trump lawyer, was banned from practicing law in Colorado for three years in May.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
