Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, said on Monday she is leaving the Republican Party in protest following the disclosure of an email from a top Republican National Committee lawyer criticizing her efforts in challenging the results of the November contest.
Ellis made the announcement on Real America’s Voice and called on RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and other members to “resign now” to create a clean slate, adding she would not return until they do.
She also questioned what happened to the “millions raised” by the RNC in November and December of last year when the election challenges were playing out, saying, “The Trump team never saw a dime of that help.”
“I am leaving the Republican Party until the Republican Party comes back home to conservatives,” she said during a follow-up appearance on Newsmax, on which she is a contributor.
A November email showed Justin Riemer, chief counsel for the RNC, discouraging a staffer from posting about ballot fraud claims made by Trump’s team. He called the legal endeavor led by Rudy Giuliani and Ellis “a joke” that was misleading millions of people.
TRUMP SAYS MCCONNELL ‘WASTING MONEY’ ON ALABAMA SENATE PRIMARY
.@JennaEllisEsq: “I am leaving the Republican party until the Republican party comes back home to conservatives.” pic.twitter.com/fAyIQD1Lrg
— Newsmax (@newsmax) July 13, 2021
“I led the RNC legal team in over 55 lawsuits on behalf of the President’s reelection, winning a majority of them, including the only successful post-election lawsuit. Any suggestion that I did not support President Trump or do everything in my power to support the RNC’s efforts to reelect President Trump is false,” Riemer said in a statement. “I will say publicly now what I then said privately: I take issue with individuals who brought lawsuits that did not serve President Trump well and did not give him the best chance in court.”
Ellis also tweeted Sunday evening that it “is true” Giuliani told Riemer to resign from his post as RNC chief counsel in November after he questioned Trump’s election fraud claims, according to an account in a new book by Michael Wolff. However, an RNC spokesperson said the story was “simply false.”
“Ronna Romney McDaniel is still lying through her teeth,” Ellis told the Washington Examiner in a statement on Tuesday. “She knew about this email from November, she promised to fire Riemer, and she lied then, and she’s still lying. What happened to the $200 million raised for election integrity? She has some explaining to do and should stop lying. Even better, she should resign.”
Following her tweet, Ellis posted a screenshot of her Twitter profile showing McDaniel blocked her on the platform, and she later posted a photo of the email from Reimer to then-RNC official Liz Harrington.
“Even if I stand alone for the truth, I will stand for the truth,” Ellis said on Monday.
A spokesperson for the RNC pushed back on the claim that they were not pursuing election integrity.
“The RNC, including our legal team, fought vigorously for election integrity before, during, and after the 2020 election, spending over $30 million and engaging in over 50 lawsuits,” the representative told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. “Election integrity is a critical issue we face not only as a party but also as a country, and our effort continues today as we are engaged in nearly 20 lawsuits backed by a multimillion-dollar investment.”
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Harrington is now Trump’s spokeswoman.
“The only thing that’s a joke is the idea that Joe Biden got 81 million votes,” she told the Washington Examiner in response to the report.
