It seems many of Donald Trump’s once allies are quickly turning into foes as yet another lawyer promises to testify against the former president in the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) case against him.
Another Donald Trump Lawyer Pleads Guilty
Jenna Ellis pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia.
Ellis is one of four defendants in the case who have now accepted plea deals for their involvement in allegedly attempting to overturn Georgia’s election results from the 2020 presidential election. She joins Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, bail bondsman Scott Hall, and lawyer Sidney Powell who became infamous for her promise to “release the Kraken” in order to prove voter fraud during the 2020 election.
A total of 18 co-defendants have been listed in addition to Donald Trump in the election interference case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
In a tearful statement before the court, Ellis distanced herself from the former president. “If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-challenges,” Ellis said. “I look back on this whole experience with deep remorse. For those failures … I have taken responsibility already before the Colorado bar who censured me and I now take responsibility before this court and apologize to the people of Georgia.”
Ellis said she mistakenly trusted more experienced lawyers to provide accurate information about the 2020 election. “What I should have done, but did not do, was to make sure the facts that other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true. I failed to do my due diligence.”
Ellis was sentenced to five years’ probation. She must also pay $5,000 in restitution, write a letter apologizing to the state, testify against the remaining defendants, and complete 100 hours of community service.
In a September episode of her podcast, Ellis had already declared she would not support Trump in the 2024 election. “I simply can’t support him for elected office again,” Ellis said. “Why I have chosen to distance is because of that frankly malignant narcissistic tendency to simply say that he’s never done anything wrong.”
Forced Apologies
I do not defend much of Donald Trump’s behavior and believe people can have a change of heart about supporting him, however, these plea deals seem coerced.
Usually when someone is guilty of a crime, they serve their sentence and bear the burden of a proportionate punishment.
Writing a letter of apology to the state of Georgia feels a little bit – I don’t know how else to describe this but – forced. It reminds me of videos we saw circulating around the death of George Floyd when groups of white people bowed down before black people to apologize for racism in the country. It’s theatrical and quite frankly, cringeworthy.
It is always moving when someone humbles themselves to offer sincere regrets for wrongdoings. However, so many of today’s confessions feel forced in order to be saved from social or professional death at the hands of overzealous prosecutors who wish nothing more than to destroy the lives of or embarrass others.
Such retributions feel less and less like justice and more and more like abuses of power.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor for 19FortyFive.com. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
