Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis agrees to law license suspension
Jenna Ellis (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)
DENVER - Jenna Ellis, a former attorney for former President Donald Trump, has agreed to a three-year suspension of her Colorado law license.
The suspension comes seven months after Ellis pleaded guilty to a single count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings in Georgia. Ellis admitted to making repeated false statements about the 2020 presidential election, prompting this disciplinary action.
Jenna Ellis’ Colorado law license suspended
A state disciplinary judge approved the settlement between Ellis and Colorado's Attorney Regulation Counsel on Tuesday afternoon. Ellis served as Trump's senior legal adviser during his 2020 campaign.
In March 2023, the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC) first censured Ellis after she acknowledged making ten "misrepresentations" on television and social media during Trump's efforts to contest his loss to President Joe Biden.
The court noted that Ellis' misconduct caused "significant actual harm," including undermining public confidence in the presidential election process. Her suspension is set to begin on July 2.
Jenna Ellis reads a statement after pleading guilty to one felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings inside Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfees Fulton County Courtroom in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 24, 2023. Ellis, an
Two government watchdog groups had sought to have Ellis disbarred. According to court documents, "Attorneys are often disbarred after being convicted of a felony, particularly where the conviction flows from criminal acts committed while acting as an attorney. However, disbarment is not automatic, even for felony convictions."
The court recognized that while disbarment is typically the sanction for such misconduct, Ellis' role was that of an accessory, not a principal, which influenced the decision for suspension rather than disbarment.
In a letter submitted as part of the settlement, Ellis described the "Stop The Steal" campaign as "cynical" and misleading, acknowledging the presence of bad actors on both sides. "I do not do this as a political calculation," Ellis wrote. "I was wrong to be involved."
Ellis explained that she initially believed her actions were in good faith but now admits she was "overly zealous in believing the 'facts' being peddled to support the challenge, which were manufactured and false." She urged others who still believe the election was stolen to reconsider their stance.
To reinstate her Colorado law license after the suspension, Ellis must "prove by clear and convincing evidence that she has been rehabilitated, has complied with all disciplinary orders and rules, and is fit to practice law."
Jenna Ellis’ plea deal in Georgia
Ellis was the fourth defendant in the Georgia election interference case to enter a plea deal. She was a vocal part of Trump's reelection campaign in the last presidential cycle and was charged alongside the Republican former president and 17 others with violating the state's anti-racketeering law.
She had been facing charges of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and soliciting the violation of oath by a public officer prior to the plea.
Her plea, entered in October 2023, followed fellow attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, entering similar guilty pleas.
Prosecutors recommended five years of probation for Ellis along with $5,000 in restitution, 100 hours of community service, writing an apology letter to the people of Georgia and testifying truthfully in trials related to this case.
The indictment in the sweeping case details a number of accusations against Ellis, including that she helped author plans on how to disrupt and delay congressional certification of the 2020 election's results on Jan. 6, 2021, the day a mob of Trump supporters eventually overran the U.S. Capitol.
Ellis was also accused of urging state legislators to unlawfully appoint a set of presidential electors loyal to Trump at a hearing in Pennsylvania, and she later appeared with some of those lawmakers and Trump at a meeting on the topic at the White House. The indictment further says she similarly pushed state lawmakers to back false, pro-Trump electors in Georgia as well as Arizona and Michigan.
Jenna Ellis faces charges in Arizona
Ellis, along with attorneys John Eastman, Christina Bobb, and Boris Epshteyn, were indicted in Arizona in April, accused of organizing an attempt to use fake documents to persuade Congress not to certify Joe Biden's victory.
The office had announced Wednesday that conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges had been filed against 11 Arizona Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump won in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election. They included a former state GOP chair, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate and two sitting state lawmakers.
FOX 10 Phoenix contributed to this report.