Could Rudy Giuliani Be Next Domino to Fall in Trump's Inner Circle?

Rudy Giuliani may be the next one of Donald Trump's co-defendants to plead guilty in the Georgia 2020 election interference case, according to legal experts.

Former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis took a plea deal on reduced charges Tuesday morning, making her the latest co-defendant to plead guilty to criminal charges in connection with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

Willis investigated Trump's infamous phone call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he asked him to "find" enough votes to tilt the election in his favor, as well as an alleged plot to submit a false slate of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College. Trump and 18 others have been indicted, and Ellis was the fourth co-defendant to take a plea deal. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case and accused Willis of targeting him for political purposes.

Speculation has grown online that Giuliani, the former New York mayor who was Trump's lawyer after the 2020 presidential election, could become the next co-defendant to plead guilty to avoid a harsh sentence. Several legal analysts told Newsweek he may be considering doing so after Ellis' plea deal.

Newsweek has reached out by email to Giuliani for comment.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said Tuesday that he believes Giuliani may be the fifth co-defendant to take a guilty plea in the Georgia case. As a lawyer, Giuliani likely understands the risks involved in going to trial, Rahmani said.

"Now that these dominos are falling, you don't want to be stuck in a trial with Donald Trump as the last defendant," he said.

Rahmani added that Giuliani may be facing financial pressures due to the enormous legal fees involved in going to trial. Giuliani has reportedly had financial troubles because of his legal battles. He reportedly has spent millions defending himself in federal and state criminal cases related to the 2002 presidential election.

Ellis' plea will add to the pressure on Giuliani and other co-defendants to enter a deal to avoid a conviction in the case, Michael McAuliffe, a former federal prosecutor and former elected state attorney, told Newsweek. He said that Ellis' testimony will leave Giuliani "little or no room left for an exculpatory explanation."

"At some point relatively soon, Giuliani and his defense team have to make some hard assessments and decisions about what's in his best interest under the circumstances––not what he wants to occur but how to manage what's actually happening," he said.

Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade told Newsweek that Ellis could "shed light on" the Trump legal team's motives and knowledge in connection with efforts to change Georgia's election results, including details about conversations, meetings and other evidence intended to establish fraudulent intent.

"It is difficult to know how any defendant might react to a co-defendant's guilty plea, but it certainly puts pressure on them," she said.

McQuade also said Giuliani should plead guilty "quickly" if he plans to do so, because his cooperation will become less valuable with each subsequent guilty plea.

Former federal prosecutor Shanlon Wu told Newsweek that he previously believed Giuliani would be less likely to plead guilty, noting that it could do damage to his reputation. But he said he now believes it "seems to be logical," following Ellis' plea.

Financial pressures may be the most important "pressure point" to reach a plea deal, Wu added.

University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias offered a different view. He told Newsweek that it is unlikely Giuliani will plead guilty because prosecutors probably "won't give him a very good deal" and that he may believe he was simply representing his client.

Still, Tobias said, Ellis' guilty plea may add to the pressure on Giuliani.

"Ellis stated in open court that she relied on Trump lawyers who were more experienced than she and admitted that she did not do her due diligence regarding Trump's allegations of election fraud," Tobias said.

Giuliani Testimony Could Be Damaging to Trump

Giuliani served as a member of Trump's inner circle following the 2020 election, so his testimony may be particularly damaging to the former president, according to Rahmani. Unlike other co-defendants such as former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, it would be difficult to argue that Giuliani was on the fringes and working on his own.

"The closer you get to Trump, the worse it is for the former president," he said.

Wu also said Giuliani's testimony should be "particularly damaging" for Trump given his public statements about election interference, but he noted that there are questions about what direct conversations he had with Trump, as well as his recollections.

Wu said that Giuliani and other witnesses will likely try to walk the "fine line of being truthful and not fully implicating Trump."

"They may still be trying to protect themselves from the future, to stay in his good graces. I think these are very much defendants who are going to look to thread that needle to protect themselves," he said.

When asked in August whether Ellis would enter a guilty plea, Giuliani described her as his "number two" during an interview with Newsmax.

"She was excellent, and she was firmly convinced the election was over. And she was the one who recommended professor [John] Eastman. There is no one who was more zealous about the fact that this was a stolen election than Jenna Ellis, and I think that anyone on that team would testify to that," Giuliani said.

Update 10/25/23, 12:13 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias.