Jenna Ellis Is Latest Trump Lawyer to Plead Guilty in Georgia Case

Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images

In the gallery of mug shots featuring Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case Jenna Ellis stood out. The former member of the Trump campaign legal team was one of the only defendants who posed with a big smile on her face during her booking in August.

But Ellis’s demeanor was strikingly different as she accepted a plea deal in Fulton County court on Tuesday morning, becoming the fourth co-defendant of the former president to do so. Ellis pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false writings and statements stemming from her testimony before the Georgia legislature, where she made false claims about the 2020 election being stolen alongside Rudy Giuliani.

Ellis, who hardly seemed remorseful in her prolific social-media postings over the last few years, choked up as she read a statement in court, apologizing to the people of Georgia for her role and saying she “failed to do my due diligence.”

“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 whole experience with deep remorse,” she said.

As part of the deal, Ellis will be required to serve five years probation, pay a $5,000 fine, and complete 100 hours of community service, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She also agreed to testify truthfully regarding the matters of this case if called upon by prosecutors in the future.

In the indictment filed by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, Ellis was accused of promoting falsehoods about the results of the 2020 election by appearing with Giuliani at public hearings in key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Arizona and pressuring legislators to put forward new presidential electors. She’s also believed to have authored legal memos that erroneously claimed former vice-president Mike Pence had the power and authority to block the certification of the election results, as reported by ABC News. Ellis initially faced two charges in the indictment: one count of racketeering and one count of solicitation of violation of oath by public officer.

In accepting a plea deal, Ellis joins three of her co-defendants, including two fellow former attorneys. Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, who served on the Trump campaign legal team, both pleaded guilty last week ahead of their slated trial, which was severed from the others in the sprawling case. Powell is alleged to have paid a firm to access voter data and voting machines in Georgia’s Coffee County. She pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties.

Chesebro is believed to be the main architect of the scheme to put together slates of fake electors in battleground states and having them sign false certificates claiming Trump was the true winner in the 2020 election. Chesebro pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents.