Former Trump lawyer flips in Georgia racketeering case – Former President Donald Trump has another thing to add to his legal woes after a former lawyer of his, Jenna Ellis, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in the Georgia indictment where both she and the former chief executive are named as defendants.
A Trump Loyalist Just Flipped
The plea was part of a deal the attorney struck with prosecutors, which saw Ellis plead guilty to felony charges of aiding and abetting false statements and writings. She will face five years of probation, pay restitution in the amount of $5,000, as well as perform 100 hours of community service.
She will also “fully cooperate” with prosecutors in the case against Trump, providing “additional recorded statements” and accede to any other needs the prosecution asks of her.
Ellis, the third former Trump lawyer to plead guilty in the Georgia case, was in tears as she read a statement before a judge. “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,” part of her statement read.
“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,” she added.
Ellis also said that she “failed to do… due diligence,” after the 2020 presidential election. “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.”
Ellis admitted that her previous statements that alleged thousands of ballots were counted illegally in the 2020 presidential election were false and untrue, along with other previous statements that claimed thousands of felons and underaged individuals were allowed to vote illegally.
Her guilty plea also includes an implication against another former Trump lawyer and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani – Ellis has confessed that she “intentionally aided and abetted” Giuliani and Ray Smith, another of Trump’s lawyers, in “knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully making … false statements to members of the Georgia Senate.”
Trump’s legal team slammed the tactics of the prosecution team, claiming that the racketeering charges were simply being used as a “bargaining chip” by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to flip witnesses against the former president.
“What that (Ellis’ guilty plea) shows is this so-called RICO case is nothing more than a bargaining chip for DA Willis. Moreover, this plea was to a completely separate charge, not a part of the original indictment, which doesn’t even mention President Trump,” said a statement from Trump’s lead counsel for the Georgia case, Steve Sadow.
Ellis joined the ranks of former Trump attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, as well as bail bondsman Scott Hall, that have since pleaded guilty to charges against them and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for leniency. All four were named as co-defendants – among several others – in racketeering charges that were part of Georgia’s election tampering indictment against Trump.
The former chief executive, along with Giuliani, and former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows continue to hold to their pleas of not guilty.
Tim Ramos has written for various publications, corporations, and organizations – covering everything from finance, politics, travel, entertainment, and sports – in Asia and the U.S. for more than 10 years.
From the Vault
