Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who advised former President Donald Trump in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday in the Georgia case against the ex-president and his allies. She pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting false statements/writings, making her the third lawyer to admit wrongdoing in the case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Like the others, Ms. Ellis agreed to cooperate with prosecutors pursuing racketeering charges against Mr. Trump.
Under the plea deal, Ms. Ellis faces five years of probation, a $5,000 fine, and 100 hours of community service. Speaking to the court, Ms. Ellis expressed regret and pointed the finger at senior attorneys who joined her in challenging the 2020 election results. She admitted that she should have done her due diligence and made sure the facts alleged by other lawyers were true. She acknowledged that in the frenetic pace of trying to raise challenges to the election, she failed to do her job properly. Ms. Ellis also emphasized that she takes her role as a lawyer seriously and that she relied on others to provide her with reliable information.
In December 2020, Fulton County prosecutors accused Ms. Ellis of making false statements to state lawmakers in Georgia who were examining the election results. They noted that she worked closely with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a key figure in Mr. Trump’s push to root out election fraud.
It is worth mentioning that previously, lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts for her role in accessing election data from Coffee County, Georgia, and lawyer Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty to a felony count related to an effort to set up a false slate of electors before Congress confirmed President Biden’s win. All three lawyers pleaded guilty under Georgia’s “first offender” law, which allows them to have the offenses wiped from their permanent records if they comply with the terms of their sentences.
Additionally, a fourth defendant, bail bondsman Scott Hall, pleaded guilty to five counts related to his presence in a restricted area of an election office during the alleged breach of voting machines in Coffee County in January 2021. He also agreed to testify at future trials.
