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By Nick Mordowanec
Staff Writer
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Former Donald Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis is the latest shoe to drop in Georgia's 2020 election interference case, taking a plea deal just days after multiple other co-defendants did the same.
Ellis was in Atlanta's Fulton County Superior Court on Tuesday morning with her attorneys to plead guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings in connection with the indictment brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis against Trump and 18 others.
She had been facing charges of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and soliciting the violation of oath by a public officer, both felonies.
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Other high-profile co-defendants in the case who pleaded guilty in the past week include Trump allies Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro. Powell, a lawyer, was a familiar face in accounts of Trump's efforts to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election. Chesebro, also a lawyer, has been considered by some as the ringleader of an alleged "stolen electors" plot in Georgia. Their pleas protect them from jail time.
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The conditions of Ellis' plea include five years of probation, $5,500 in restitution, 100 hours of community service and writing an apology to Georgia residents. She is a first-time offender.
Like Powell and Chesebro, she must also testify against the remaining co-defendants in future legal proceedings. She may also be asked to provide the prosecution with more documents and information.
Newsweek reached out to Ellis and the Trump campaign via email for comment.
Ellis, who worked on Trump's 2020 campaign, was wearing white and appeared to be crying when she read a statement in the courtroom. She said she is both an attorney and a Christian.
"I failed to do my due diligence," Ellis said. "I believe in and I value election integrity. 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."
The indictment states that Ellis and others helped devise ways to disrupt and delay the electoral certification of the 2020 race on the same day of the U.S. Capitol riot, January 6, 2021.
As pointed out in court on Tuesday, Ellis is also alleged to have attended a meeting with other Trump backers to discuss state electors. She was accused of urging Georgia legislators to unlawfully appoint a set of presidential electors in Trump's favor at a hearing in Pennsylvania, a tactic she also pushed in other states with close results in 2020, such as Arizona and Michigan.
One December 2020 meeting Ellis attended included former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a co-defendant in the Fulton County case, and Georgia-based attorney Ray Smith.
Ellis' X (formerly Twitter) account has multiple posts from Tuesday, including one quoting a Bible verse: "God is good all the time. Even in the midst of an evil world."
In mid-September, Ellis posted that over $200,000 was raised for her defense. As of Tuesday, that amount was over $216,000.
She thanked her supporters, who are "helping me fight a weaponized government and the criminalization of the practice of law." But some have called on her to return the money to the donors.
A spokesperson for GiveSendGo, the platform Ellis has utilized, told Newsweek before Ellis' plea that the platform has a policy on campaigns in general.
"Our policy is that people can raise funds for legal endeavors within their jurisdiction, and fundraising for a legal defense fits with the framework of what is legal to do in the USA," the spokesperson said.
Following Elllis' plea on Tuesday, Newsweek reached out to the platform for additional comment. Newsweek also reached out to Michael Melito, whose Denver law firm is receiving the funds.
Update 10/24/23, 11:15 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background.
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