An Arizona grand jury indicted several important allies of former President Donald Trump — including former Trump attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arizona Republican Chair Kelli Ward, and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — for their roles in disputing the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Along with Ward, Meadows, and Giuliani, former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis and former Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn, along with several members of the Arizona Republican Party, were among those indicted, according to the Washington Post.
Meadows, Giuliani, Ellis, and Epshteyn are among those who were indicted for allegedly attempting to help Trump receive Arizona’s electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election, which was more than three years ago.
People such as Ward and Arizona state Sens. Jake Hoffman (R) and Anthony Kern (R) were also hit with charges long after they signed paperwork on December 14, 2020, certifying that Trump was the winner of the election.
The indictment of several Trump allies and members of Arizona’s Republican Party comes as a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll conducted between April 8 and 15, found that President Joe Biden is trailing Trump in several key swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina by six or more points.
In Arizona, Trump led by seven points, receiving 49 percent of support from voters who indicated they would vote for him, while Biden received 42 percent.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced the indictment in a video posted to X:
I will not allow American democracy to be undermined. It’s too important. Investigators and attorneys assigned to this case took the necessary time to throughly piece together the details of the events that began nearly four years ago. They followed the facts where they led and I’m very proud of the work they’ve done to date. We are here because justice demands an answer to the efforts that the defendants and other unindicted co-conspirators allegedly took to undermine the will of Arizona’s voters during the 2020 presidential election. Arizona’s election was free and fair. The people of Arizona elected President Biden.
A state grand jury, made up of everyday, regular Arizonans, has handed down felony indictments in the ongoing investigation into the fake elector scheme in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/Nu8GcD4ZqJ
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) April 24, 2024
This indictment from the Arizona grand jury is the latest in a series of efforts to use the legal system against conservatives and Republicans, something that Trump and other Republicans like as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have referred to as “weaponization.”
In July 2023, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 16 “fake electors” with eight felonies, including conspiracy and election law forgery for their alleged roles in attempting to dispute the 2020 presidential election results.
Months later, in December 2023, a Nevada grand jury indicted several top members of the state’s Republican Party. Those indicted were charged with forging and submitting fake documents in relation to the “fake electors” plot.
The so-called “fake electors” have maintained that they were acting earnestly, with the belief that Trump had won each of the states.
One example Trump’s allies have pointed to is the presidential election of 196o between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
While Kennedy narrowly won the presidential election, a recount occurred in Hawaii as the initial results showed Nixon had won the state by 140 votes, according to Politico.
As a recount was occurring, electors for Nixon met and cast three votes for him, three other electors for Kennedy also gathered and signed a certificate that Kennedy had won the state, instead of Nixon.
Electors for Kennedy and electors for Trump also reportedly used similar wording in their documents.
In this instance, the results were ultimately overturned in Kennedy’s favor.
The indictment of several top allies of the former president’s and several members of the Arizona GOP comes as Trump is currently on trial and facing 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records in the first degree regarding payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.
Those charged in the indictment include the eleven Arizona Republicans who served as alternate electors, according to the Arizona Mirror.
The eleven Arizona Republicans are:
- Kelli Ward, the former Arizona Chair of the Republican Party, and her husband, Michael Ward.
- Arizona State Sen. Jake Hoffman
- Arizona State Sen. Anthony Kern
- Tyler Bowyer, Chief Operating Officer of Turning Point USA
- Nancy Cottle
- James Lamon
- Robert Montgomery
- Samuel Moorhead
- Lorraine Pellegrino
- Gregory Safsten
Trump allies who were reportedly indicted include Mark Meadows, Jenna Ellis, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Christina Bobb, a former Trump attorney, Boris Epshteyn, and Mike Roman, a former Trump campaign aide, according to the Washington Post.
