Former Donald Trump attorney Jenna Ellis has maintained an active presence on social media, often tweeting in support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and conservative causes.
But lawyers representing two Georgia election workers in a defamation case against Rudy Giuliani say Ellis, who is a witness in the case, is nowhere to be found.
Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss are suing Giuliani on allegations that the former New York City mayor, who also served as a Trump attorney, spread conspiracy theories about the election that led to threats of violence.
Freeman and Moss settled with One America News over the same allegations.
According to court documents Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney posted on Twitter, Ellis is identified as a third party who was “involved with providing Giuliani with information and discussing with Giuliani allegations regarding Plaintiffs that Giuliani relied on when making statements about Plaintiffs, in his deposition testimony Defendant Giuliani highlighted Ms. Ellis as his ‘assistant’ who had knowledge of an alleged USB drive video, and discovery has illustrated her critical involvement in the defamatory allegations at the heart of Plaintiff’s claims.”
Giuliani amended his initial disclosures on March 24 to add the names of several people who he admits are likely to possess relevant information on which he plans to rely, including Ellis.
The plaintiff’s lawyers say they’ve been trying for months without success to issue Ellis a subpoena.
They claim Ellis moved from Colorado to Florida but haven’t determined her new address.
“Plaintiffs requested the assistance of Kleinbard Counsel and counsel for Defendant Giuliani in contacting Ms. Ellis and/or her new counsel, or to reach an agreement that would obviate the need to secure Ms. Ellis’ testimony. To date, Plaintiff’s efforts have been rebuked,” the plaintiff’s lawyers said in court documents.
“Plaintiffs have incurred significant time and expense, including hiring a private investigator in an attempt to locate Ms. Ellis’ new Florida address, and still have been unable to locate and serve Ms. Ellis. Defendant plans to rely on Ms. Ellis in his defense at trial and Plaintiffs would be severely prejudiced if they were unable to depose Ms. Ellis.”
