Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is seeking testimony from lawyer and political consultant Boris Epshteyn in the trial of lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, according to a court filing made public Thursday.
Willis wants a Washington, D.C. judge to force Epshteyn (pictured above), a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, to testify about actions taken by Chesebro and Powell during Trump’s challenge of the 2020 election results. Fulton County promised Epshteyn will not be prosecuted for any information gleaned from his testimony.
The case against Chesebro and Powell was previously part of the greater indictment against the former president before they successfully invoked their right to a speedy trial. Chesebro and Powell’s trial is now set to begin on October 23, with jury selection to start October 20. Chesebro is accused of creating a false slate of electoral college electors, while Powell is accused of illegally helping a private company obtain election data from Coffee County.
Explaining her request for Epshteyn to testify, Willis’ office identified the lawyer as one of 30 unindicted co-conspirators involved in Trump’s effort to contest the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Willis’ office is seeking testimony from Epshteyn related to the November 19, 2020, press conference held by Trump’s legal team members, including Powell and Jenna Ellis, who was also indicted by Willis but did not invoke her right to a speedy trial. Prosecutors claim Epshteyn has information about Powell’s “appearance at the press conference” and seems to indicate he can provide information about the claims she advanced.
Similarly, Willis’ office claims Epshteyn communicated and requested memos with Chesebro, attorney John Eastman, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who were indicted by Willis, “regarding the attempt to disrupt and delay the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress.”
Willis’ office also claims Epshteyn was involved in two memos, one involving a “President of the Senate” strategy that likely required former Vice President Mike Pence to return certain electoral college votes and a second titled “Filibuster talking points” that offered strategies to delay the January 6 meeting of Congress politically.
Prosecutors previously claimed they intend to call 150 witnesses, and the same number of witnesses will be required for each trial, meaning Epshteyn will likely be requested to serve as a witness in the eventual Trump trial.
In a separate filing, prosecutors also clarified the testimony they expect to receive from retired defamation attorney Lin Wood, who was named as a witness in an earlier filing from Willis’ team. Prosecutors are seeking information about a meeting between Powell, Wood, and former Trump White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn at Wood’s South Carolina home. Prosecutors claim the trio drafted a memo recommending voting machines be seized and forensically imaged to find alleged evidence of voter fraud.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Georgia Star News and a reporter for the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Boris Epshteyn” by Doitfluet. CC BY-SA 4.0.
