Jenna Ellis, the ex-campaign lawyer to former President Donald Trump, appeared to cry on Tuesday while pleading guilty to her involvement in the attempted overturning of the 2020 presidential election.
While speaking before a judge in Georgia, Ellis tearfully accepted a plea deal of one count of aiding and abetting false statements before disavowing her former boss.
“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,” Ellis said. “I look back on this whole experience with deep remorse.”
Reactions to the speech by Ellis, who has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and could face up to five years probation, were largely negative. Opponents of Trump and his associates mocked the lawyer’s response.
“Ellis’ crocodile tears come a day late and a dollar short,” one X user wrote. “She knew EXACTLY what she was doing and will forever be exhibit A of how ~not to act as an attorney.”
Trump supporters, on the other hand, saw Ellis’ admission of guilt as proof of her betrayal against the former president.
One popular QAnon account on X even referred to Ellis as a traitor.
“Jenna Ellis shakes and cries while pleading guilty in Fulton County,” the user wrote. “Traitor.”
Ellis specifically admitted to aiding and abetting former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s false statement during a 2022 hearing with Georgia lawmakers. Like Trump, Ellis and others repeatedly pushed the debunked claim that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen.
The plea deal has also barred Ellis from discussing anything related to the case in Georgia while proceedings continue against other defendants.
Although Guiliani has pled not guilty, other defendants such as former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro both accepted guilty pleas just last week.
