Washington —
Jenna Ellis, a former Trump campaign attorney, entered her third guilty plea in the past week on Tuesday in the Georgia election subversion case and agreed to cooperate with Fulton County prosecutors.
Ellis admitted guilt to one count of aiding and abetting false statements, a felony resulting from the electoral lies that Ellis and other Donald Trump attorneys sold to Georgia lawmakers in December 2020, at an unannounced hearing in Atlanta.
She was given a five-year probationary term and told to make reparation of $5,000.
Tuesday, as she entered a guilty plea and sobbed to the judge, Ellis apologized for her involvement in Trump’s historic attempts to rig the 2020 election.
“I would not have agreed to represent Donald Trump in these post-election disputes if I had known then what I know now. “I have a great deal of regret about this experience,” Ellis remarked, occasionally breaking down in tears.“
The development follows consecutive guilty pleas last week from Kenneth Chesebro, who assisted in the creation of the fake electors conspiracy, and former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell.
For Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who charged the case in August and is preparing for trials against Trump, his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his chief of staff Mark Meadows, and other important individuals, these three plea agreements represent a significant step forward. (They all entered a not guilty plea.)
At upcoming trials, Ellis, Chesebro, and Powell all consented to provide testimony on behalf of the prosecution. These former Trump officials are now on course to become the main antagonists of the president after flipping. They can throw light on what was going on behind the scenes in 2020 because they are all lawyers.
In the complicated case, 19 people were initially accused by the prosecution. Four have already entered guilty pleas.
A Sincere Apology
In a heartfelt confession before the judge, Ellis acknowledged her own “failures” and expressed “deep regret” while denying any role in Trump’s legal efforts to have the 2020 election annulled.
As a lawyer who also happens to be a Christian, Ellis said, “I take my duties as an attorney very seriously.”
But she admitted, “I failed to do my due diligence,” following the 2020 election.
I looked to others for accurate and trustworthy information, including lawyers with much more years of expertise than I do. What I failed to do, but what I should have done, your honor, was to confirm that the facts that the other attorneys claimed to be accurate were, in fact, true.
Taking after Giuliani
Giuliani was charged with lying to Georgia legislators by promoting bogus voter-fraud ideas, according to Ellis’ plea. This comes one week after Chesebro accused Giuliani of participating in a plot to rig the Electoral College by using phony electors. Giuliani disputes the accusations.
Ellis reportedly stated in court documents that she “intentionally aided and abetted” Giuliani and another Trump attorney, Ray Smith, in “making… false statements to members of the Georgia Senate.”
They made unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud, including assertions about mail-in ballots and hundreds of allegedly unlawful votes cast by felons, minors, and “dead people.” Smith and Giuliani each entered a not guilty plea.
According to several investigations and recounts conducted by Georgia electoral officials, none of these charges were genuine. By around 12,000 votes, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the state.
Prosecutors reduced Ellis’ original two charges, including a breach of Georgia’s RICO racketeering legislation, in exchange for her cooperation. In a statement, Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow said that he thinks this is beneficial for his client and pointed out that Ellis’ criminal activity “doesn’t even mention President Trump.”
In exchange for a plea to probation, Fani Willis and her prosecution team have dropped the RICO accusation four times, according to Sadow. What that demonstrates is that DA Willis is merely using the alleged RICO case as a negotiating chip.
According to the terms of the plea agreement, Ellis, who is well-known online, is also prohibited from publishing anything about the case on social media while any of the defendants are being tried, according to the prosecution.
Ellis conceded that several of her post-election public statements were incorrect, including her assertion that the race was “stolen” from Trump, during unrelated disciplinary procedures in Colorado, where she is a licensed attorney. The misbehavior investigation was concluded when she paid $224 and received a judge’s rebuke.
She hasn’t been around Trump much lately, and she has openly endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
Ellis made a public complaint about the lack of financial assistance from pro-Trump organizations following her indictment. Through an internet crowdsourcing platform, she has raised more than $216,000 in total.
