An Arizona grand jury indicted seven attorneys and aides linked to Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign on Wednesday, including his onetime Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, and his former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
The felony charges are tied to their alleged efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state and have Trump be named winner—despite him losing the state by 10,000 votes.
The state’s attorney general announced the indictments, which were obtained by The Daily Beast. Others charged alongside Meadows and Giuliani were Jenna Ellis, a Trump campaign lawyer; John Eastman, a Trump lawyer who presented him with the now-infamous “coup memo,” which included a roadmap to implementing the fake elector plot and overturning the election; Christina Bobb, a Trump lawyer; Boris Epshteyn, a top campaign adviser; and Mike Roman, a campaign aide.
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Also charged was Kelli Ward, the Arizona GOP leader during the 2020 election and the immediate aftermath, who regularly parroted election lies.
Trump was not charged, but the indictment lists him as an unindicted co-conspirator.
“We conducted a thorough and professional investigation over the past 13 months into the fake electors scheme in our state,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a video statement. “I understand for some of you today didn't come fast enough. And I know I’ll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all. But as I’ve stated before, and will say here again today, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined.”
News of the indictment surfaced just hours after Giuliani, Ellis, Meadows, and Trump himself were named unindicted co-conspirators in a Michigan case concerning that state’s fake elector scheme.
Trump’s allies reportedly came up with a seven-state scheme to subvert the Electoral College and turn the election in his favor, in which Arizona—and its 11 electoral votes—was among the most important battleground states.
Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, and now Arizona have all charged at least some of those who participated in their respective fake elector schemes, while an investigation is ongoing in Wisconsin. Prosecutors in New Mexico and Pennsylvania announced they would not bring charges on the matter.
