Fake electors: Jenna Ellis to cooperate with Arizona AG

PHOENIX - The Arizona Attorney General's Office has signed a cooperation agreement with one of the defendants in the fake electors case.

Former Trump lawyer and conservative media figure Jenna Ellis signed the agreement Monday morning.

"The State has agreed to drop the charges against Ms. Ellis in exchange for her cooperation with the prosecution," read a portion of a statement. "Ms. Ellis had previously been charged with nine felonies including fraud, forgery and conspiracy."

Ellis has previously pleaded not guilty to fraud, forgery and conspiracy charges in the Arizona case. Seventeen other people charged in the case have pleaded not guilty to the felony charges - including Giuliani, Trump presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows and 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Trump had won Arizona.

"Her insights are invaluable and will greatly aid the State in proving its case in court," Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. "As I stated when the initial charges were announced, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined - it is far too important. Today's announcement is a win for the rule of law."

The AG's Office notes the cases against the other 17 defendants remain ongoing.

"She’s got a lot of information," Mayes said. "This is important information, and she has agreed to testify fully for us in our case."

Prosecutors say Ellis was at the right hand of former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, helping spread false claims of election fraud in Arizona and six other states.

Last year, standing teary-eyed before the judge, she pleaded guilty in Georgia and said she looks back on that time with deep remorse.

Ellis' attorney said in a statement, "We are grateful the Arizona Attorney General's Office completely dismissed the indictment against Jenna Ellis as she was not involved in the so-called 'fake elector' scheme. Jenna was originally told she was not a target and her cooperation is her continued willingness to tell the truth."

Ellis pleaded guilty in Georgia case

Jenna Ellis reads a statement at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia in 2023. (Photographer: John Bazemore/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In 2023, Ellis was charged in Georgia after she appeared with Giuliani at a December 2020 hearing hosted by state Republican lawmakers at the Georgia Capitol, during which false allegations of election fraud were made. She had pleaded guilty in October to one felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings. After her guilty plea in Georgia, Ellis was barred from practicing law in Colorado for three years.

While not a fake elector in Arizona, prosecutors say Ellis made false claims of widespread election fraud in the state and six others, encouraged the Arizona Legislature to change the outcome of the election and encouraged then-Vice President Mike Pence to accept Arizona's fake elector votes.

The indictment said Ellis, Giuliani and other associates were at a meeting at the Arizona Legislature on Dec. 1, 2020, with then-House Speaker Rusty Bowers and other Republicans when Giuliani and his team asked the speaker to hold a committee hearing on the election.

When Bowers asked for proof of election fraud, Giuliani said he had proof, but Ellis had advised that it was left back at a hotel room, the indictment said. No proof was provided to Bowers.

The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.