Trump's ex-lawyer Jenna Ellis to cooperate in Arizona fake voter case; charges to be dropped

PHOENIX (AP) — Former President Donald Trump's campaign lawyer Jenna Elliswho worked closely with Rudy Giulianiwill cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in exchange for having charges against her dropped in a fraudulent voter registration 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.”

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. pleaded guilty in October for a serious crime of complicity in false statements and writings.

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 prohibited from practicing law in Colorado for three years after his guilty plea in Georgia.

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

Arizona authorities revealed the felony charges In late April, charges were filed against 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely claiming Trump had won Arizona, five lawyers with ties to the former president, and two former Trump advisers. President Joe Biden Arizona won by 10,457 votes.

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 Republican electors from Arizona gathered in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were “duly chosen and qualified” electors and affirming that Trump won the state. One minute video The Arizona Republican Party posted a summary of the signing ceremony on social media. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.

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