Former Trump attorney has Colorado law license suspended for attempting to overturn 2020 election results

Jenna Ellis, an ex-attorney for former President Trump, has agreed to have her law license suspended for three years in Colorado for her role in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

A presiding disciplinary judge approved the settlement between Ellis and Colorado’s Attorney Counsel on Tuesday. 

Ellis pleaded guilty in October to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings. She reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in the Georgia 2020 election interference case, in which Trump and 17 others were indicted for engaging in an unlawful conspiracy to keep the former president in power.

She was first censured by Colorado’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel in March 2023 after she made “misrepresentations on national television and on Twitter regarding the 2020 presidential election.”

Ellis’s suspension will take effect on July 2 and last three years.

Two watchdog groups were attempting to have her disbarred, but the settlement said that while it’s the “presumptive sanction” for her misconduct, her “criminal culpability” was due to her actions as an “accessory,” not a principal.

“The evidence surrounding her plea reflects that she aided and abetted the false statements at issue through her presence at the Georgia Senate Subcommittee meeting but did not otherwise contribute to drafting or preparing the false statements,” the settlement said.

“She has also expressed remorse and has recognized the harm caused by her misconduct … and has taken significant, concrete steps to mitigate the harm her misconduct has caused,” the settlement said, noting that a three-year suspension would be an “appropriate sanction.”

Ellis must file a petition if she wants to reinstate her Colorado law license.

In a letter dated May 22, Ellis said she wanted to express her “deep remorse” and acknowledge the harm her misconduct caused.

“I do not do this as a political calculation, out of anger toward my former client, or for any other ways some may try to undermine or discredit my statement here, which is simply this: I am choosing to take responsibility for my actions and my association with the harm caused to this nation by the post-election activities of 2020 on behalf of then-President Donald Trump,” she wrote. “I was wrong to be involved.”  

She said she would gratefully accept the suspension as a consequence and encouraged others who still think the 2020 election was stolen to “consider changing their position.”

“I will continue to stand up for the truth, even when it requires admitting I was wrong,” Ellis concluded.