Oct. 24 (UPI) — A former attorney for Donald Trump, Jenna Ellis, pleaded guilty Tuesday to aiding and abetting false statements in the former president’s alleged conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
Ellis, 38, on Tuesday agreed to five years probation and to pay $5,000 in restitution within 30 days. She must also complete 100 hours of community service and write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia. She has completed the letter.
Ellis is the fourth defendant in the conspiracy case to enter a plea agreement. Fellow Trump attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty last week. Kenneth Chesebro and Scott Hall have also pleaded guilty.
“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,” Ellis told the court in tear-filled testimony. “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.”
Ellis said she relied on others, including lawyers with more experience, to provide her with factual information.
“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 said. “In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I 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.”
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee agreed to sentence Ellis as a first-time offender.
Ellis must also testify in all hearings in the cases against her co-defendants, including Trump, if called upon. Ellis is one of 19 people charged in the conspiracy. She is also barred from talking about the case with the media or on social media until the case is completed.
Ellis is accused of appearing before a Georgia Senate subcommittee alongside attorney Rudy Giuliani and other defendants and making false statements about the election. Those falsehoods included statements about ineligible voters casting ballots and that 10,315 deceased people had voted.
Prosecutors allege Ellis arranged the meeting with the subcommittee and arranged meetings with legislators in other states.
