'Not a positive development': Why Jenna Ellis’ plea deal is bad news for Trump

25 October 2023

Yet another co-defendant has made a plea deal in Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' election interference case against former President Donald Trump. This time, it's Jenna Ellis, one of the attorneys who tried to help Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Like three other co-defendants in Willis' indictment — bail bondsman Scott Hall and attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro — Ellis has entered a "guilty" plea. Ellis is receiving five years of probation but will avoid prison; in return, she must fully cooperate with the Fulton County DA's office.

Vanity Fair's Bess Levin, in her October 24 column, lays out some reasons why Ellis' plea deal is bad news for Trump. Three of the four co-defendants who have flipped, Levin emphasizes, are attorneys who represented the former president after he lost the 2020 election to now-President Joe Biden.

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"As a general rule of thumb," the liberal columnist writes, "it's not considered a positive development if your attorney pleads guilty in a case you both are charged in. Even less positive? If three of them do so. Unfortunately for one Donald J. Trump, that's exactly what's happened over the course of the last week, with lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis all admitting to their roles in the plot to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia."

Levin adds, "On Tuesday, in Fulton County, Ellis pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aiding and abetting false statements and writings."

The columnist notes that Ellis was tearful and expressed remorse when she entered her "guilty" plea in an Atlanta courtroom.

Ellis told the court, "I failed to do my due diligence. 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."

Levin points out that Trump is trying to distance himself from Powell and wonders if he will do the same thing with Ellis now that she has flipped.

"Over the weekend," Levin explains, "Trump claimed Powell was never actually his attorney (despite having announced her as his attorney to millions of people). He does not appear to have commented on the Ellis news, but when he does, perhaps he'll similarly claim to have never worked with her."

Read Bess Levin's full Vanity Fair column at this link (subscription required).

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