GOP leaders in court over 2020 election
Washington — Jenna Ellis, a former legal adviser for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, reached a cooperation agreement with Arizona prosecutors related to the alleged efforts to subvert President Biden’s 2020 election victory in the state.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has agreed to drop nine felony charges against Ellis in exchange for her cooperation in the investigation into the alleged attempt to deliver the state’s 11 Electoral College votes to Trump instead of Mr. Biden. The charges against her included fraud, forgery and conspiracy.
“This agreement represents a significant step forward in our case,” Mayes said in a statement announcing the agreement, which was signed by Ellis on Monday.
Mayes called Ellis’ insights “invaluable” as the investigation into the 17 other defendants in the case continues. The attorney general added that Ellis’ cooperation “will greatly aid the State in proving its case in court.”
According to the agreement, Ellis has agreed to testify against other defendants and provide prosecutors with materials related to the alleged scheme.
An Arizona grand jury indicted Ellis and 17 others, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, in April. All of the defendants pleaded not guilty.
The indictment alleged that Trump allies met on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate claiming to affirm Trump as the winner of the state, even though Mr. Biden had won by more than 10,000 votes. The fraudulent document was submitted to Congress as part of a broader conspiracy to challenge Mr. Biden’s win when lawmakers gathered on Jan. 6, 2021.
Ellis served as a legal adviser to the former president’s campaign during the 2020 election. She pleaded guilty in October in a Georgia election case and was sentenced to five years of probation. She also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in that case.
“In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence,” she said at an October court appearance. “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.”
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
