Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis has had her law license suspended for three years in her home state of Colorado for the lies she spread as part of an effort overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
The agreement was approved on Tuesday by the Colorado Supreme Court. Ellis could have been disbarred after pleading guilty in October to a felony in Georgia. A prosecutor in the case told the Georgia court that Ellis “aided and abetted” two Trump lawyers when they baselessly told Georgia state senators that tens of thousands of votes in the state were illegal.
The governing body for lawyers in Colorado had already censured Ellis after she made false statements regarding the election, according to The Denver Post.
“While disbarment is the presumptive sanction for Respondent’s misconduct, it is significant that her criminal culpability was due to her conduct as an accessory, not as a principal,” the agreement states.
Ellis also wrote a letter of remorse, saying that she “turned a blind eye” to the notion that Trump campaign lawyers were pushing falsities in their “cynical ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign.”
She also wrote that having accepted her suspension, “I will hopefully encourage others who may still believe that the election was ‘stolen’ to consider changing their position. Everything that has come out since has not proven that claim.”
Her attorney, John Michal Richilano, told The Denver Post that “unlike others in the Trump orbit, she stepped forward and took responsibility and told the truth.”
He added: “She did this at considerable personal cost, having received threatening emails, texts and tweets, also of the obscene variety … She gratefully accepted suspension of her license understanding her role and realizing, after the fact, that there was a lot of untruths being advanced on behalf of the former president.”
The agreement goes on to say that, “The evidence surrounding her plea reflects that she aided and abetted the false statements at issue through her presence at the Georgia Senate Subcommittee meeting, but did not otherwise contribute to drafting or preparing the false statements.”
“She has also expressed remorse and has recognized the harm caused by her misconduct,” it states.
