Indicted Trump attorney Jenna Ellis to help Arizona prosecutors in fake electors case
A former lawyer for President Donald Trump has agreed to help prosecutors in the criminal case against individuals who claimed on bogus documents that Trump won Arizona in 2020, Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Monday.
Mayes’ office agreed to drop the charges against attorney Jenna Ellis, and in exchange Ellis “shall testify completely and truthfully at any time and any place requested by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office,” the cooperation agreement says.
Ellis was one of 18 people charged with nine felonies in April, and she is the only defendant so far to flip and potentially help bolster prosecutors’ case.
Alongside Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, who is also charged in Arizona, Ellis told leaders of the Arizona Legislature they had the power to do what they wanted with the electors after the 2020 election.
Mayes told The Arizona Republic in an interview Monday that agreeing to drop charges against Ellis was "not something you do lightly," but a step that would help the state's case.
"Jenna Ellis was close to Rudy Giuliani in the pressure campaign," Mayes said. "She is very familiar with what Giuliani and other national figures were doing during that timeframe. We think she provides important information that will ultimately significantly advance the case.”
Mayes declined to say whether Ellis had direct contact with Trump.
Ellis in October took a plea deal in a similar case in Georgia and agreed to testify against other defendants there. Another Trump lawyer helping Georgia prosecutors, Kenneth Chesebro, has helped Arizona prosecutors and is one of five unindicted co-conspirators in Mayes' case.
Mayes broke the news that a defendant had agreed to cooperate during a Friday interview with Phoenix television station 12News. Mayes' criminal division chief, Nick Klingerman, had said in June that plea discussions were underway with defense lawyers.
The Democratic attorney general declined to say if other defendants in the case were discussing cooperation agreements. Ellis met with prosecutors on June 17 and signed the cooperation agreement on Monday morning, according to the Attorney General’s Office. If Ellis does not meet the terms, Mayes' office can pursue charges.
Ellis' Arizona attorney, Matthew Brown of Chandler, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
A state grand jury indicted the 11 Arizona Republicans who claimed on phony paperwork sent to Congress that Trump won the state in 2020 and seven top aides to the former president. Each is facing nine felony counts including conspiracy, forgery and fraud. Each has pleaded not guilty.
Several defendants have filed motions to dismiss the case, which are expected to be considered in a hearing later this month that will also likely solidify a schedule for the case to move forward.
Groups of Republicans in seven battleground states took steps to claim Trump had won, giving Congress and Republican Vice President Mike Pence a path to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's win on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence and Congress ignored those efforts and certified Biden's win after protesters broke into the U.S. Capitol. That violent event has been investigated by states and a select committee in the U.S. House.
Four of those states brought criminal charges against individuals who participated: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada. Three of the cases are ongoing. A Nevada judge in June dismissed the matter because it was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford vowed an appeal at that time.
Mayes said a trial in Arizona is unlikely to happen before 2025. That's due to the massive amount of evidence in the case and the number of defendants making it more complicated to prosecute.
Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Indicted Trump attorney Jenna Ellis to help Arizona prosecutors