How Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis could face more hot water in Colorado following plea deal

Ellis, who until recently was a Colorado resident and who is licensed to practice law in the state, was publicly censured in March by state authorities who oversee the professional conduct of attorneys. As part of the censure, Ellis admitted that multiple statements she made on Trump’s behalf in late 2020 about the presidential election being stolen were “misrepresentations.”

In August, she was named, along with Trump, as one of 19 criminal defendants in an election interference-related racketeering case in Fulton County, Georgia. On Tuesday, Ellis arrived at the Fulton County Superior Court and pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting false statements and writings. She agreed to be sentenced to five years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 100 hours of community service.

Her guilty plea appears to trigger at minimum a review by Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel Jessica Yates, who investigates allegations of lawyer misconduct.

A criminal conviction obliges a lawyer who is licensed to practice in Colorado to report the conviction to Yates’ office within 14 days. When asked about Ellis’ guilty plea, Yates declined to discuss the case specifically. But in general she noted that lawyers are prohibited from committing “a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects,” and added, in an email: “The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel reviews a self-report of a criminal conviction and the underlying facts in relation to that rule and our procedural rules, and may pursue discipline, an alternative to discipline, or other action consistent with all of those rules.”

Newsline did not immediately receive a response to a message seeking comment left Tuesday evening with the Georgia attorneys who represent Ellis.

Ellis became the third former Trump attorney to plead guilty in the Georgia case, following similar pleas last week by Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro.

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