Many rioters who stormed the Capitol received long prison sentences. Sidney Powell, an architect of the effort to subvert the election, negotiated a misdemeanor plea deal and cooperation agreement.
When Sidney Powell, a top ally of Donald Trump, pleaded guilty Thursday to crimes associated with the 2020 election, lawyers for many Jan. 6 defendants were stunned by her relatively meager sentence: six years of probation and a modest fine.
For years, those lawyers — and some judges — have lamented that the thousands who breached the Capitol were used as pawns and dupes by Trump, Powell and their associates in a bid to subvert the election. So Powell’s plea was the first taste of accountability for Trump’s inner circle. Yet her punishment, Jan. 6 defense lawyers noted, paled in comparison to even some of the low-level offenders who entered the Capitol that day and now face consequences that may dog them for life.
On the other hand, I don’t think she actually took part in storming the capital and all the destruction and violence. She may be looney but at least she didn’t go that far.
Neither did trump, or bannon or manafort or all the rest. They all played a part.
