Ellis became the fourth co-defendant in the case to accept a plea deal instead of going to trial.
Oct. 24, 2023, 8:53 AM CDT / Updated Oct. 24, 2023, 9:28 AM CDT
By Rebecca Shabad
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis pled guilty on Tuesday morning in the Georgia election interference case, becoming the fourth co-defendant to accept a plea deal instead of going to trial.
Ellis pleaded guilty in court to aiding and abetting false statements and writings.
The conditions of the plea agreement include the requirements that she serve five years of probation, pay $5,000 of restitution to the Georgia secretary of state within 30 days, and testify at hearings or trials in the case.
Ellis is also required to complete 100 hours of community service and write an apology letter to the citizens of the state of Georgia. Ellis also agreed to provide any requested documents or evidence, not post about the case on social media and not have any communication with any witnesses or the media until the case has been closed.
Ellis was Trump’s senior legal adviser from early 2019 until shortly after he left office in January 2021 and was part of the legal team that advised him as he sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Ellis participated in a December 2020 meeting in which Rudy Giuliani and other Trump lawyers made false statements in an effort to disregard the certified results of the presidential election in Georgia and to get fake presidential electors appointed. They said Ellis was also involved in similar false statements in other states, including in Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Ellis became emotional in court on Tuesday, tearing up as she delivered brief remarks about how she regrets her experience representing Trump.
"As an attorney who is also a Christian, I take my responsibilities as a lawyer very seriously and I endeavor to be a person of sound, moral and ethical character in all of my dealings. In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, I believed that challenging the results on behalf of President Trump should be pursued in a just and legal way. I endeavored to represent my client to the best of my ability. I relied on others, including lawyers with many more years of experience than I, to provide me with true and reliable information, especially since my role involved speaking to the media and to legislators in various states," Ellis said.
"What I did not do but should have done, your honor, was to make sure that the facts the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true," she continued. "In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence. I believe in and I value election integrity. If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges. I look back on this full experience with deep remorse."
Her plea agreement comes after co-defendants Sidney Powell and Scott Chesebro took plea deals last week. Powell pleaded guilty Thursday to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit election interference. Chesebro pleaded guilty on Friday to a felony count of conspiracy to file false documents.
Both co-defendants had been scheduled to start a joint trial in the case before their plea agreements.
Another defendant in the sprawling case, Scott Hall, pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges in late September as part of a deal with Fulton County prosecutors. Hall, a bail bondsman, was charged in relation to a voting system breach in Georgia’s Coffee County in early 2021.
They were among 19 defendants named in District Attorney Fani Willis’ indictment, which also charged former President Donald Trump.
Oct. 24, 2023, 8:53 AM CDT / Updated Oct. 24, 2023, 9:28 AM CDT
By Rebecca Shabad
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis pled guilty on Tuesday morning in the Georgia election interference case, becoming the fourth co-defendant to accept a plea deal instead of going to trial.
Ellis pleaded guilty in court to aiding and abetting false statements and writings.
The conditions of the plea agreement include the requirements that she serve five years of probation, pay $5,000 of restitution to the Georgia secretary of state within 30 days, and testify at hearings or trials in the case.
Ellis is also required to complete 100 hours of community service and write an apology letter to the citizens of the state of Georgia. Ellis also agreed to provide any requested documents or evidence, not post about the case on social media and not have any communication with any witnesses or the media until the case has been closed.
Ellis was Trump’s senior legal adviser from early 2019 until shortly after he left office in January 2021 and was part of the legal team that advised him as he sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Ellis participated in a December 2020 meeting in which Rudy Giuliani and other Trump lawyers made false statements in an effort to disregard the certified results of the presidential election in Georgia and to get fake presidential electors appointed. They said Ellis was also involved in similar false statements in other states, including in Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Ellis became emotional in court on Tuesday, tearing up as she delivered brief remarks about how she regrets her experience representing Trump.
"As an attorney who is also a Christian, I take my responsibilities as a lawyer very seriously and I endeavor to be a person of sound, moral and ethical character in all of my dealings. In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, I believed that challenging the results on behalf of President Trump should be pursued in a just and legal way. I endeavored to represent my client to the best of my ability. I relied on others, including lawyers with many more years of experience than I, to provide me with true and reliable information, especially since my role involved speaking to the media and to legislators in various states," Ellis said.
"What I did not do but should have done, your honor, was to make sure that the facts the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true," she continued. "In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence. I believe in and I value election integrity. If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges. I look back on this full experience with deep remorse."
Her plea agreement comes after co-defendants Sidney Powell and Scott Chesebro took plea deals last week. Powell pleaded guilty Thursday to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit election interference. Chesebro pleaded guilty on Friday to a felony count of conspiracy to file false documents.
Both co-defendants had been scheduled to start a joint trial in the case before their plea agreements.
Another defendant in the sprawling case, Scott Hall, pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges in late September as part of a deal with Fulton County prosecutors. Hall, a bail bondsman, was charged in relation to a voting system breach in Georgia’s Coffee County in early 2021.
They were among 19 defendants named in District Attorney Fani Willis’ indictment, which also charged former President Donald Trump.
