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>> “The former politician pleaded guilty...” <<
Abuse of the English language.
The former politician plead guilty...
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Pled versus pleaded ~
Anyone notice the banishment of “pled” about 5 years or so ago? The newspapers used to say “The defendant pled not guilty.” Suddenly, everything became “pleaded.” I contend that this is an improper imposition of some kind of twisted “grammar correctness,” except it is incorrect.
“Pled” is a less emotional word than “pleaded”. I plead when I am begging for something.
Unless the defendant is on his knees weeping, he is not pleading, he is entering a plea. In the past tense, he pled, not pleaded. With all respect, did I score a ‘Gotcha’?
Abuse of the English language.
The former politician plead guilty...
'Pled' is probably the most common usage, although some prefer 'pleaded'.
https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/solosez/PleadedVsPled.authcheckdam.pdf