Jenna Ellis reads a statement after Ellis pleaded guilty to a felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, inside a Fulton County, Georgia, courtroom Oct. 24. (AP/John Bazemore, pool)
by Brian Fraga
Staff Reporter
A former senior legal adviser for former President Donald Trump who also served briefly as a special counsel for a conservative Catholic-led law firm pleaded guilty on Oct. 24 to a felony charge stemming from her efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Jenna Ellis, a constitutional lawyer and outspoken conservative podcaster, expressed "deep remorse" in the Fulton County courtroom for her actions on behalf of Trump, telling the judge that she relied on more experienced lawyers who told her information she failed to verify.
"As an attorney who is also a Christian, I take my responsibilities as a lawyer very seriously," said Ellis, an evangelical Christian who on Oct. 24 also referenced Psalm 91 on X (previously known as Twitter) and wrote, "God is good all the time. Even in the midst of an evil world."
In July 2020, Ellis joined the Thomas More Society as a legal counsel at a time when the Illinois-based public interest law firm, named for the 16th-century English Catholic lawyer and martyr, was ramping up its "election integrity" initiative.
Ellis was also listed as a member of the leadership and advisory board for the "Amistad Project," an initiative of the Thomas More Society that challenged election results in swing states that Biden won.
In December 2020, Ellis and the president of the Thomas More Society told The Washington Post that her work there as a special counsel was not related to election cases but rather dealt with providing legal representation for churches challenging COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
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Georgia state prosecutors accused Ellis of making "false statements concerning fraud" about the 2020 election and for writing two memorandums that "outlined strategy for disrupting and delaying" the joint session of Congress that met on Jan. 6, 2021, to certify President Joe Biden's victory.
In exchange for pleading guilty to one felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, Ellis agreed to serve five years' probation, pay $5,000 in restitution, write an apology letter to Georgia residents and complete 100 hours of community service.
One of 19 people indicted in August for an alleged criminal scheme to overturn Trump's election loss, Ellis also agreed to testify truthfully in her co-defendants' trials. Three other defendants have already pleaded guilty. The other co-defendants, including Trump himself and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have pleaded not guilty to criminal racketeering charges.
