Trump's ex-lawyers keep reaching deals to testify against him
Jenna Ellis became just the latest member of Trump's election-denial legal team to reach a plea deal with prosecutors, but she likely won't be the last
"In two courtrooms 800 miles apart on Tuesday, a stark reality for former President Donald Trump became clearer than ever," Politico reported: "If Trump is taken down in his myriad criminal and civil cases, it will likely be at the hands of his own former lawyers."
On Tuesday morning, Jenna Ellis became the fourth co-defendant in Trump's Georgia election interference case — and the third former Trump-affiliated lawyer — to plead guilty to lesser crimes in return for probation, financial penalties and a promise to testify truthfully against any co-defendants if called to do so by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
"If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these postelection challenges," a tearful Ellis told Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee. Ellis, 38, was a vocal member of what she called Trump's legal "elite strike force team" deployed to prove the 2020 election was stolen, alongside Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Powell reached a plea deal in Fulton County on Thursday, and lawyer Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty Friday. Atlanta bail bondsman Scott Hall pleaded guilty on Sept. 29.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen testified against his glowering former boss in a civil fraud trial in New York City on Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday night, ABC News reported that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows had received immunity from special counsel Jack Smith and was giving damaging sworn testimony against Trump in his federal election interference case.
With Ellis' plea deal, "nearly every high-level attorney who worked with Trump" between the 2020 election and Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection "has provided voluminous testimony to congressional investigators or prosecutors," Politico noted.
Trump's current lawyers "have been preparing for a potential onslaught of co-defendants flipping on him" since the summer, digging up dirt on those deemed most likely to reach plea deals, Rolling Stone reported Tuesday night. But Trump's legal team is also grappling with "chronic distrust and petty feuds in their own ranks," reaching a point "where some of them have privately spread rumors or speculation this year that other Trump attorneys are secretly cooperating with federal or Fulton County prosecutors." Time will tell, but Ellis isn't expected to be the last co-conspirator to flip.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Voting Rights Act: SCOTUS’s pivotal decisionFeature A Supreme Court ruling against the Voting Rights Act could allow Republicans to redraw districts and solidify control of the House
-
No Kings rally: What did it achieve?Feature The latest ‘No Kings’ march has become the largest protest in U.S. history
-
Bolton indictment: Retribution or justice?Feature Trump’s former national security adviser turned critic, John Bolton, was indicted for mishandling classified information after publishing his ‘tell-all’ memoir
-
No Kings rally: What did it achieve?Feature The latest ‘No Kings’ march has become the largest protest in U.S. history
-
Push for Ukraine ceasefire collapsesFeature Talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were called off after the Russian president refused to compromise on his demands
-
Trump eyes regime change in VenezuelaFeature Officials believe Trump’s ‘war on narco-terrorism’ is actually a push to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
‘Social media is the new tabloid’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are ICE’s recruitment woes complicating Trump’s immigration agenda?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Lowered training standards and ‘athletically allergic’ hopefuls are hindering the White House plan to turn the Department of Homeland Security into a federal police force
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
Donald Trump’s week in Asia: can he shift power away from China?Today's Big Question US president’s whirlwind week of diplomacy aims to bolster economic ties and de-escalate trade war with China
-
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s rebellion: Maga hardliner turns on TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
