(Phoenix) A former Donald Trump campaign lawyer, Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with Rudy Giuliani on the Republican presidential candidate’s previous campaign, will cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in exchange for dropping charges against her in a fake voter fraud case, the state attorney general’s office announced Monday.
Mme Ellis 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 criminal charges — including Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows, and 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely claiming that Mr. Trump had won Arizona.
“His knowledge is invaluable and will greatly assist the state in proving its case in court,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement.
PHOTO BONNIE CASH, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
“As I said when the initial charges were announced, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined — it is far too important. Today’s announcement is a victory for the rule of law,” the prosecutor said.
Last year, Mme Ellis was indicted in Georgia after appearing with Mr. Giuliani at a December 2020 hearing held by Republican state lawmakers at the Georgia Capitol in which false allegations of election fraud were made.
She pleaded guilty in October to one count of aiding and abetting false statements. The cooperation agreement signed by Ms.me Ellis’s plea bargain in the Arizona case requires her to provide truthful information to the attorney general’s office and to testify truthfully in proceedings in state or federal court. Prosecutors can back out of the deal and refile charges against her if Ms.me Ellis is in breach of this agreement.
Prosecutors have already asked a court to dismiss the charges against Mr.me Ellis in Arizona. It was not immediately clear whether a judge had yet approved the request.
The Associated Press left messages with M’s lawyerme Ellis, Matthew Brown, after the deal was announced Monday.
False allegations
Prosecutors also say that Mr.me Ellis made false claims of widespread voter fraud in Arizona and six other states, encouraged the Arizona Legislature to change the outcome of the election, and encouraged then-Vice President Mike Pence to accept fake votes from Arizona electors.
The indictment states that Mr.me Ellis, Rudy Giuliani and other associates were present at a meeting at the Arizona Legislature on May 1er December 2020, with then-House Speaker Rusty Bowers and other Republicans when Rudy Giuliani and his team asked the president to hold a committee hearing on the election.
Mme 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.
Mr. Trump himself was not charged in the Arizona case, but was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment.
The 11 people who claimed to be Arizona Republican electors gathered in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign a certificate stating that they were “duly elected and qualified” electors and that Mr. Trump had won the election in the state. A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was then sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.