Trump’s ex-lawyer Jenna Ellis to cooperate in Arizona fake voter case; charges to be dropped – Associated Press

Jenna Ellis speaks with her attorney Franklin Hogue after Ellis pleaded guilty to one felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, Oct. 24, 2023, inside Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s courtroom in Fulton County, Georgia, in Atlanta.

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, will cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in exchange for dropping charges against her in a fake voter case, the state attorney general’s office announced Monday.

Ellis had previously pleaded not guilty to fraud, forgery and conspiracy charges in the Arizona case. Seventeen other people charged in the case have pleaded not guilty to felony charges, including Giuliani, Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely claiming Trump won Arizona.

“Their input is invaluable and will greatly assist the State in proving its case in court,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. “As I said when the initial charges were announced, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined; it is too important. Today’s announcement is a victory for the rule of law.”

Eleven people who had been nominated to be Republican electors for Arizona had gathered in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were “duly chosen and qualified” electors and affirming that Trump had won the state in the 2020 election. President Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes.

At the time, the Arizona Republican Party posted a one-minute video of the signing ceremony on social media. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.

Last year, Ellis was charged in Georgia after she appeared with Giuliani at a December 2020 hearing hosted by state Republican lawmakers at the Georgia Capitol during which false allegations of election fraud were made. She had pleaded guilty in October to a felony charge of aiding and abetting false statements and writings. Ellis’s cooperation agreement in the Arizona case requires her to provide truthful information to the Attorney General’s Office and to testify honestly in proceedings in any state or federal court. Prosecutors can back out of the agreement and refile charges if Ellis violates the agreement.

Prosecutors have already asked a court to dismiss the Arizona charges against Ellis. It was not immediately clear whether a judge has approved the request.

The Associated Press left messages with Ellis’ attorney, Matthew Brown, after the agreement was announced Monday. Mel McDonald, a retired attorney and former federal prosecutor in Arizona and judge in the Phoenix metropolitan area, said cooperation agreements like the one Ellis signed are common in Arizona state courts and are typically awarded to insiders who can explain how a crime unfolded.

“You need someone who is part of this to fill in the blanks,” said McDonald, who is not involved in the Arizona case.

While not a fake elector in Arizona, prosecutors say Ellis made false claims of widespread voter fraud in the state and six others, encouraged the Arizona Legislature to change the election result and encouraged then-Vice President Mike Pence to accept votes from Arizona’s fake electors.

The indictment says Ellis, Giuliani and other associates were in a meeting at the Arizona Legislature on Dec. 1, 2020, with then-House Speaker Rusty Bowers and other Republicans when Giuliani and his team asked the president to hold a committee hearing on the election.

When Bowers asked for evidence of voter fraud, Giuliani said he had evidence, but Ellis had told him he had left it in a hotel room, according to the indictment. No evidence was provided to Bowers.

Ellis is also barred from practicing law in Colorado for three years following his guilty plea in Georgia.

Prosecutors in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin have also filed criminal charges related to the fake voter scheme.

Arizona authorities unsealed the felony charges in late April. In total, charges were filed against 11 Republicans who submitted the document falsely claiming Trump won Arizona, five attorneys connected to the former president and two former Trump advisers.

Trump himself was not charged in the Arizona case, but was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment.