Arizona Attorney General Charges Trump Allies Meadows and Giuliani, Eleven Republicans for Fake Elector Scheme

In a significant development, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has announced charges against former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani as part of an investigation into their roles in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. The indictment also names eleven Republicans who submitted a false document claiming that Trump won Arizona, including state party chair Kelli Ward, U.S. Senate candidate Wendy Rogers, and two sitting lawmakers, Robert Montgomery and Anthony Kern. They are charged with nine counts each of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery related to the fake elector scheme. Giuliani is referred to as an attorney who spread false allegations about voter fraud, while Meadows’ identity was not immediately released due to him being a co-conspirator but unindicted at this time. Trump himself has been named as an “unindicted co-conspirator.” The charges come after similar indictments were brought in Georgia and Michigan involving other Republicans falsely claiming election fraud. Mayes stated that she would not allow American democracy to be undermined, while Giuliani’s political adviser Ted Goodman described the development as “the continued weaponization of our justice system.” The defendants have yet to respond publicly to the charges.