Remember the 2020 election? And how Donald Trump decisively lost to Joe Biden but couldn’t accept said loss, and instead conspired with his cronies to try and steal a second term, in schemes that included fake-elector plots in several states? Well, more than three years later, some of those cronies are being held accountable by the state of Arizona.
An Arizona grand jury has indicted 18 individuals for trying to overturn the election in the state, including seven people who worked for or were affiliated with Trump. Those people include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, and Christina Bobb; 2020 (and 2016 and 2024) campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn; and 2020 campaign aide Mike Roman. “In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020,” reads the indictment, which was announced Wednesday. “Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency” to keep Trump in power “against the will of Arizona’s voters. This scheme would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.” According to The Washington Post, all defendants appear to have been charged with every crime laid out in the indictment; those felonies are conspiracy, fraudulent schemes and practices, fraudulent schemes and artifices, and forgery. Fraudulent schemes and artifices, the most serious of the all the crimes, comes with a standard five-year prison sentence. In a statement, Attorney General Kris Mayes said the charges resulted from a “thorough” 13-month investigation, adding, “I will not allow American democracy to be undermined. It is too important.”
While Trump himself was not charged, he shows up as a major player in the scheme. Per the Post:
This is not the first time Meadows, Giuliani, Ellis, Eastman, and Roman have been hit with felony charges for trying to overturn the election, having been indicted last year by the district attorney’s office in Fulton County, Georgia, which also charged Trump. In that case, Ellis pleaded guilty and has been cooperating with the DA; the other individuals have pleaded not guilty. Following the Arizona charges, an attorney for Meadows said he had not yet seen the indictment, but that if his client was charged “it is a blatantly political and politicized accusation and will be contested and defeated.” A lawyer for Eastman said his client “is innocent of criminal conduct in Arizona or any other place and will fight these charges as he has all the other unjust accusations leveled against him.” A spokesman for Giuliani claimed the indictment is evidence of the “continued weaponization of our justice system.” Epshteyn declined the Post’s request for comment. Bobb and attorneys for Roman and Ellis did not immediately respond. A spokesman for Trump called the indictment “another example of Democrats’ weaponization of the legal system.”
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.