Pellegrino’s plea deal is the second victory in the Arizona case in as many days for Mayes, a Democrat. Another one of the 18 defendants, former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, began cooperating with prosecutors this week in exchange for a deal to dismiss the charges she faced. Ellis similarly cooperated with prosecutors last year in the Georgia case.
Pellegrino is the first participant in the elector scheme to accept criminal responsibility for signing the false documents, though dozens have been charged in a handful of states. Filings on the Arizona docket indicate that the other charges she faced, including conspiracy and forgery, were dismissed in light of the deal. Other filingsrevealed the terms of her deal, which includes three years of probation and no jail time.
“Loraine Pellegrino’s decision to accept a plea to a lesser charge reflects her desire to move forward and put this matter behind her,” said Pellegrino’s attorney Joshua Kolsrud. “She has taken full responsibility for her actions, demonstrating her commitment to upholding the law and contributing positively to the community. The sentence of unsupervised probation with community service acknowledges her remorse and willingness to make amends.”
After his defeat at the polls in 2020, Trump’s lawyers hatched a plan to convene their own sets of presidential electors in some states where Biden was the certified victor. Initially, the attorneys said the so-called contingent electors were meant as placeholders in case Trump prevailed in any of his lawsuits to overturn the election results.
