An Arizona grand jury indicts Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and other prominent Trump allies on charges of trying to block the legal transfer of power from then-President Trump to Joe Biden. I filed a complaint.
Seven Trump aides were indicted, along with 11 pro-Trump Arizona Republicans who signed a document purporting to be the state’s valid electors in 2020.
The former president himself Unclaimed but listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Prosecutors have accused the 18 defendants of plotting to raise false claims of election fraud to pressure Arizona state election officials to overturn Biden’s narrow victory in the state.
The indictment lists lawsuits filed, alleged messages to county and state officials, and signing a “fake elector” document in December 2020.
Each of the 11 electors who supported Trump faces nine charges, including conspiracy, fraud, and forgery.
“The people of Arizona and the United States elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020,” the indictment states.
“Unwilling to accept this fact, the defendant and his unindicted co-conspirators are using the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep unindicted co-conspirator 1 in office, against the will of Arizona voters. “They plotted to prevent this,” he continued, referring to Trump. “This plan would deprive Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.”
Only 11 alternate electors have been identified by name, but statements in the charging document make it clear that other defendants include Mr. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor turned Trump lawyer. Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff. Boris Epshteyn, a longtime advisor to President Trump. and John Eastman, a lawyer involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays’ (D) office said their names would be released after they serve their sentences.
Arizona’s 2020 presidential election was one of the closest in the nation, with Biden defeating Trump by just over 10,000 votes.
Arizona was one of seven battleground states where “alternate electors” were called and baselessly claimed that they were “duly elected” electors. It was expected that then-Vice President Mike Pence would recognize the electors who supported Trump, rather than the true electors who had cast their votes for Biden.
Former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) implicated Giuliani in his 2022 testimony before a House committee on Jan. 6. Bowers said that despite repeated requests from the New York mayor-turned-Trump surrogate for evidence to support his claims of 2020 election fraud, Giuliani was unable to provide any evidence. .
“As I remember, [Giuliani] “There are a lot of theories, just no evidence,” Bowers testified.
The so-called “fake electors” indicted include Kelly Ward, Tyler Bowyer, Nancy Cottle, Jacob Hoffman, Anthony Cahn, James Ramon, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorehead, Lorraine Pellegrino, Gregory Safsten, Michael Ward.
Pro-Trump electors in Michigan, Nevada and Georgia have also been charged with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
developing
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
