Jenna Ellis, a former attorney for former President Donald Trump, agreed to a plea deal in October — which included the promise of a substantial reduction in charges and no jail time in exchange for testimony against her former boss.
The case against Trump was brought forward by District Attorney Fani Willis, who has charged the former president with criminal-level election interference regarding the 2020 election in Georgia.
Trump’s legal team accuses Willis of inappropriately harassing Trump advisers and confidants, wrongfully charging all defendants under the “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations” Act — allowing all co-defendants to be viewed as equally culpable in a conspiracy and bribing defendants, including Ellis, with plea deals.
Trump and his legal team have claimed that Willis and other Dept. of Justice officials have exercised political bias in prosecuting the case.
The Daily Caller reported that analysis of leaked testimony by Ellis in the case leads “legal experts to think former President Donald Trump’s defense … would take a hit, but not … have any impact.”
ABC News reported that Ellis testified that one month after the Nov. 2020 election, while results were being contested, presidential adviser Dan Scavino told her “the boss” would not leave the White House “under any circumstances.”
Jonathan Nash, a professor at Emory University School of Law, told the Daily Caller he did not believe Ellis’ testimony bodes well for Trump. Nash noted that though not all of her testimony will be permissible in court, she has provided the prosecution with avenues to explore.
Referring to Ellis’ reference to comments made by Scavino, Nash warned: “Now that prosecutors know that statements like this were being made, they could try to call as witnesses the people who made such statements.”
Nash noted that in his opinion, according to Georgia law, Scavino’s comments can be used by the prosecutor even if Scavino is not indicted. Georgia’s rules of evidence state that a “statement by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy” is not hearsay.
Georgia criminal defense attorney Philip Holloway disagreed with Nash’s assessment, saying he believed Ellis’ testimony could help Trump. Holloway told the Daily Caller:
“If anything, Ellis’ statements to prosecutors show that Trump actually believed he was the winner of the election. In fact, I’ll be surprised if Ms. Ellis is even called as a prosecution witness if this is how she would testify.”
Video of testimony from other defendants who accepted plea deals, including Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell and Scott Hall, was published by the Washington Post on Monday.
Jonathan Miller, an attorney for co-defendant Misty Hampton, acknowledged at a Wednesday hearing that he leaked the videos saying the public has “a right to know.”
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