November 01, 2023 10:20 AM UTC

Jenna Ellis Flipped Again To Keep That Precious Law License

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• by: Colorado Pols

In today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, reporters Bill Rankin and Tamar Hallerman have an exclusive interview with Frank Hogue, who as the attorney representing Colorado-licensed former Donald Trump 2020 “Elite Strike Force” legal team member Jenna Ellis brokered the plea agreement that allowed Ellis to avoid jail time:

Momentum for Ellis’ plea agreement to a single felony count was sparked by the surprise guilty pleas of two other lawyers indicted in the case — Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro — just ahead of the start of their speedy trial, according to Hogue in an interview with the AJC’s award-winning legal podcast, Breakdown.

“I think what really accelerated it was Powell and Chesebro falling as they did, one right after the other,” Hogue said, declining to say whether prosecutors or the defense reached out first. “It looked like timing was of the essence for us.”

…Hogue said a priority during negotiations with the DA’s office was to ensure that Ellis could keep her law license [Pols emphasis] — or at least not close the door to the possibility. Prosecutors clarified that Ellis didn’t commit a crime of “moral turpitude,” which is conduct contrary to justice, honesty or morality. In some states, attorneys can lose their law licenses if convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude where the underlying conduct relates to the practice of law.

Ellis’ guilty plea to a single felony charge and tearful apology to the court last week represents a much more abject acceptance of responsibility for her actions than the aftermath of Ellis’ censure agreement with Colorado attorney regulators in March, where despite admitting on paper to a series of false statements made with “at least reckless” state of mind Ellis was almost immediately back on social media defending herself. Ellis is required to provide testimony against other defendants as part of her plea agreement, and is now expressly forbidden to post on social media about the case.

Last week, the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel confirmed that Ellis’ felony conviction had been reported to them and the required investigation into that development opened. Ellis is not subject to automatic disbarment, and the question now is whether her felony conviction in the same plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election for which Ellis was previously censured warrants additional penalties. We assume that regulators would take into account Ellis’ forthcoming cooperation with prosecutors against higher-ranking “Elite Strike Force” team members, and whether she’s actually sorry this time.

With these still-moving parts in mind, here’s a totally unscientific reader poll:

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