PHOENIX (AP) – Former president donald trumpcampaign lawyer Jenna Elliswho worked closely with Rudy Giulianiwill cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in exchange for dropping charges against her in a fake voter case, the state attorney general’s office announced Monday.
Ellis has 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 Giuliani, Trump’s presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows and 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump had won Arizona.
“His insights are invaluable and will greatly help the State prove its case in court,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. “As I stated when the initial charges were announced, I will not allow American democracy to be harmed – it is too important. Today’s announcement is a victory for the rule of law.”
Last year, Ellis was charged in Georgia after appearing with Giuliani at a December 2020 hearing hosted by Republican state lawmakers at the Georgia Capitol, during which false claims of voter fraud were made. She had pleaded guilty in October to one count of felony complicity in making false statements and writings.
Although not a fake voter 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 the fake votes cast by Arizona voters. .
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 staff asked the Speaker of the House to hold a committee hearing on the election. .
When Bowers asked for evidence of voter fraud, Giuliani said he had evidence, but Ellis reported it was left in a hotel room, the indictment said. No evidence was provided to Bowers.
Ellis is also prevented from practicing law in Colorado for three years after his guilty plea in Georgia.
Prosecutors in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia It is Wisconsin also filed criminal charges related to the fake voter scheme.
Arizona authorities revealed the criminal charges at the end of April. Overall, charges were brought against 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump had won Arizona, five lawyers linked to the former president and two former Trump aides. President Joe Biden beat Arizona by 10,457 votes.
Trump himself was not charged in the Arizona case, but was referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment.
The 11 people who claimed to be Arizona Republican electors met in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign a certificate affirming that they were “duly elected and qualified” electors and affirming that Trump governed 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 later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.
