With a list of defendants that reads like a who’s who of MAGA regulars, Arizona indicted 18 individuals involved in the “fake electors” scheme during the 2020 presidential election aftermath.
Indicted in ArizonaAn Arizona grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump ‘s chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyer Rudy Giuliani and 16 others for their efforts to use so-called fake electors to try to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
The indictment released Wednesday names 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump won Arizona in 2020, including the former state party chair, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate and two sitting state lawmakers. They’re charged with nine counts each of conspiracy, fraud and forgery. The identities of seven other defendants, including Giuliani and Meadows, were not immediately released because they had not yet been served with the charges.
Trump, who is described in the indictment as an unindicted co-conspirator, has argued that he can’t be prosecuted for acts he committed while serving as president. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday will hear arguments on his bid to avoid federal prosecution over his efforts to reverse his loss.
With the indictments, Arizona becomes the fourth state where allies of the former president have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election. Heading into a likely November rematch with Biden, Trump continues to spread lies about the last election that are echoed by many of his supporters.
“I will not allow American democracy to be undermined,” Democratic state Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a video released by her office. “It’s too important.”
Arizona indicts 18 in case over 2020 election in Arizona, including Giuliani and Meadows
Eighteen people including Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani have been indicted for alleged conspiracy, fraud and forgery related to the 2020 election in Arizona. AP’s Lisa Dwyer reports Arizona becomes the fourth state to bring charges against “fake electors.”The Associated Press was able to determine the identities of the unnamed defendants based on their descriptions in the document.
One is an attorney “who was often identified as the Mayor” and spread false allegations of election fraud, which clearly describes Giuliani. Another is Trump’s “ chief of staff in 2020,” which describes Meadows.
Descriptions of other unnamed defendants point to Mike Roman, who was Trump’s director of Election Day operations; John Eastman, a lawyer who devised a strategy to try to persuade Congress not to certify the election; and Christina Bobb, a lawyer who worked with Giuliani. Eastman and Bobb did not respond to text messages seeking comment, nor did a lawyer who is representing Roman in a case in Georgia.
