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Hand inserting a piece of paper labeled "vote" into a wood box labeled "Ballot Box." The box is secured by chains

Jenna Ellis, former Trump attorney, pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case

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Chase Woodruff

(Colorado Newsline) Jenna Ellis, an attorney with strong ties to Colorado and onetime lawyer for former President Donald Trump, appeared in a Georgia courtroom Tuesday to plead guilty on a felony charge relating to an alleged pro-Trump conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Ellis, who pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, agreed to be sentenced to five years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 100 hours of community service. She will cooperate fully with prosecutors in the wide-ranging racketeering case, which was brought earlier this year by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis against Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants.

In a hearing Tuesday morning, Ellis fought back tears as she read from a written statement in which she said she “failed to do my due diligence” when presented with claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

“I relied on others, including lawyers with many more years of experience than I to provide me with true and reliable information,” Ellis said. “If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges.”

Ellis is the third attorney for Trump to plead guilty in the Georgia case, following similar pleas last week by Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro. Scott Hall, a bail bondsman indicted in the case on charges relating to a breach of Georgia voting equipment, has also entered a guilty plea.

Ellis began her legal career as a deputy district attorney in Weld County. She was fired after six months in that role for “unsatisfactory performance,” and entered private practice. She later taught pre-law courses at Colorado Christian University until 2018, and remains a fellow at that school’s Centennial Institute, a conservative think tank. She was a Colorado resident until recently, when she moved to Florida, according to her social media posts.

She was hired as a legal advisor to Trump’s reelection campaign and rose to prominence in the weeks following President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, as Trump as his allies engaged in what Willis, federal prosecutors and a special congressional panel have alleged was a coordinated effort to subvert the election results by spreading false claims of widespread fraud.

In March, Ellis was censured by a Colorado judge as a result of a misconduct complaint filed with the state office that oversees attorney discipline. As part of that proceeding, Ellis admitted that multiple statements she made in late 2020 about the presidential election being stolen were “misrepresentations.”

Ellis remains licensed to practice law in Colorado.

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