'Exceptionally generous' Jenna Ellis plea deal may be ploy to force Giuliani flip: expert
Conservative lawyer Jenna Ellis has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the Arizona "fake electors" case involving 11 allies of Donald Trump, and a legal expert said her testimony could put new pressure on Rudy Giuliani to flip against his former boss.
The former Trump campaign lawyer signed a cooperation agreement Monday after prosecutors agreed to dismiss four pending felony charges against her. MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin told "Morning Joe" that the favorable terms offered by state attorney general Kris Mayes could be an ominous development for Giuliani.
"I think the plea deal was exceptionally generous but, remember, she's the first person to plead out here," Rubin said.
"She also is the linchpin, potentially, to perhaps the person that prosecutors are most interested in hearing from next. That would be Rudy Giuliani. When you look at the indictment, where Jenna Ellis is mentioned, it's solely to her work with Rudy Giuliani in meeting with Arizona legislators.
"We know Rudy Giuliani in Arizona played two parts. One was part of the campaign to convince Arizona legislators to have a do-over or invalidate the certified results of the election, but he was also involved in the corresponding and parallel fake elector electors scheme also run through Boris Epshteyn, who is also a defendant in this case."
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Ellis, Giuliani and Epshteyn were indicted in April, along with Trump attorneys Christina Bobb and John Eastman, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and campaign aide Mike Roman, and four others in the sprawling effort to keep the former president in office despite losing the 2020 election, and many of them face similar charges in Georgia, where Ellis has already pleaded guilty.
"There is no indication that shows Jenna Ellis was also part of the fake electors scheme," Rubin said. "However, she's been charged with forgery in respect of the fake electors scheme, just like everybody else has. Is Jenna Ellis going to be the person who can connect the dots for prosecutors? She may be, or she may provide such damaging information about Mr. Giuliani, he has no choice but to talk to prosecutors himself, something he has avoided in some of the other cases."
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