Complete coverage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution brings our readers the most comprehensive coverage of the Burrell Ellis trial on our premium website, MyAJC.com/ellistrial/.
On the site:
Read the latest AJC stories and analysis about this case.
Browse an interactive that identifies the key players in the trial.
Watch reporterComplete coverage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution brings our readers the most comprehensive coverage of the Burrell Ellis trial on our premium website, MyAJC.com/ellistrial/.
On the site:
Read the latest AJC stories and analysis about this case.
Browse an interactive that identifies the key players in the trial.
Watch reporter Mark Niesse’s video about the case and what’s at stake for residents.
Read court documents and review a timeline of the corruption probe.
Complete coverage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution brings our readers the most comprehensive coverage of the Burrell Ellis trial on our premium website, MyAJC.com/ellistrial/.
On the site:
Read the latest AJC stories and analysis about this case.
Browse an interactive that identifies the key players in the trial.
Watch reporter Mark Niesse’s video about the case and what’s at stake for residents.
Read court documents and review a timeline of the corruption probe.
Mark Niesse’s video about the case and what’s at stake for residents.
Read court documents and review a timeline of the corruption probe.
Under pressure to defend himself, DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis told a judge Tuesday he plans to testify in his corruption trial, setting up a high-stakes showdown over his career and his freedom.
Ellis stood in court, flanked by his attorneys, and said he understands the consequences of his risky decision.
If he stumbles under intense questioning, the case could be all but over. If he’s convincing, he could dispel a heavy cloud of suspicion that has been building during more than two weeks of testimony.
By taking the stand, Ellis is making a last-ditch attempt to fight criminal accusations that he shook down county contractors for political contributions to his 2012 re-election campaign. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, theft, extortion and perjury.
Prosecutors rested their case against Ellis on Tuesday, and his defense attorneys began calling on witnesses, including a U.S. congressman, to testify about his reputation for honesty and truthfulness. Ellis could take the stand as soon as Wednesday.
Ellis, a real estate lawyer and twice-elected leader of DeKalb County, has maintained a poker face during long days of court, silently listening to incriminating testimony from business owners and government employees, as well as secretly recorded conversations in which he mixed government business with campaigning.
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson testified Tuesday that he believed Ellis would have a reasonable explanation for accusations brought against him.
“The Burrell Ellis I know would not require someone to make a contribution to him in order to keep their job,” said Johnson, who worked with Ellis when they were both members of the DeKalb County Commission.
Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson wouldn’t allow Johnson to discuss the unpleasant realities of political fundraising. The judge said it wouldn’t be appropriate to connect the congressman’s fundraising habits with Ellis’ politicking.
During cross-examination of character witnesses, DeKalb District Attorney Robert James asked if their opinion would change if they knew Ellis had indicated that county employees could lose their jobs unless they gave him a contribution. He then played recordings of Ellis discussing whether to retain several highly paid employees who didn’t give him donation.
One witness, former DeKalb County Board of Education Chairman Eugene Walker, said he wasn’t swayed.
“I know him to be a stand-up person,” Walker said.
Another defense witness, former DeKalb Commissioner Judy Yates, said that like Ellis, she had been provided a list of county contractors that she could use to make campaign calls.
Yates said that when she was running for CEO in 2004, the government's key witness, Kelvin Walton, gave her a vendor list. Walton later became DeKalb's director of purchasing, and he agreed to covertly record Ellis for months to avoid prosecution himself for lying under oath.
“He said, you may as well have it, everyone else does,” Yates testified.
Soon afterward, Walton delivered a copy of the list to her office.
The vendor list is important to the case because the indictment against Ellis said he ordered county employees to create it, during their normal working hours, so that he could call on those vendors for donations.
Also Tuesday, jurors watched a video of Ellis as he spoke under oath to a special grand jury. Ellis is charged with three counts of perjury based on that Jan. 7, 2013, testimony.
On the video, Ellis answered “no” when asked if he had ever canceled contracts because businesses refused to donate to his campaign, failed to return his calls or angered him.
“I don’t get involved in who gets work and who doesn’t get work,” Ellis said. “I don’t make the call to give people work. I don’t make the call to not give people work. I just rely on my department heads to make those decisions.”
On recordings made by Walton before that testimony, Ellis said the county should "dry up" businesses that wouldn't return his campaign calls. Employees of four businesses have testified that Ellis intimidated and pressured them for campaign money, and they believed they'd lose county work if they didn't contribute.
When Ellis takes the stand, he’ll have to reconcile what he said under oath with what he discussed when he didn’t think anyone else was listening.
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