Arizona Grand Jury Indicts 18, Calls Trump Co-Conspirator

Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani among those charged in election scheme
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 24, 2024 7:47 PM CDT
Arizona Grand Jury Indicts 18, Calls Trump Co-Conspirator
Members of President Donald Trump's legal team, including former Rudy Giuliani, left, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis, speaking, attend a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in November 2020, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A grand jury in Arizona on Wednesday indicted seven lawyers and aides tied to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, plus 11 state Republicans, in connection with their effort to subvert the results of the 2020 election. Trump was not charged but was described in the filing as an unindicted co-conspirator, the Washington Post reports. The charges filed after a year-long investigation include felony counts of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery, per Politico. The indictment was announced by state Attorney General Kris Mays. Those accused of assisting the failed attempt to deliver Arizona's electoral votes to Trump instead of Joe Biden, the winner, include:

  • Mark Meadows: White House chief of staff during part of Trump's presidency. "We just need to have someone coordinating the electors for the states," Meadows emailed Trump aide Jason Miller in December 2020. Meadows has discounted the email's significance.

  • Rudy Giuliani: Former personal attorney for Trump.
  • Jenna Ellis: A lawyer who pleaded guilty in October to illegally conspiring to overturn Trump's defeat in Georgia. Ellis has been cooperating with prosecutors.
  • John Eastman: A lawyer who helped draw up a multistate strategy for keeping Trump in the Oval Office.
  • Mike Roman: A campaign aide who supervised Election Day operations and spread emails about the plan to replace genuine electors with bogus ones who would vote for Trump.
  • Boris Epshteyn: A high-ranking adviser in Trump's 2020 and 2024 campaigns.
  • Christina Bobb: A lawyer who kept Trump allies informed about the scheme, per the Post. She emailed the president of Arizona's Senate with information that Giuliani said could be used to raise doubts on Biden's victory.

The Arizona Republicans charged with signing documents falsely reporting Trump as the winner include:

  • Kelli Ward: A former state Republican chair.
  • Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern: Both state senators.
  • Tyler Bowyer: Former GOP national committeeman and chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, part of Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump organization.
Most of those indicted did not immediately comment on the charges. A lawyer for the former chief of staff said, "If Mr. Meadows is named in this indictment, it is a blatantly political and politicized accusation and will be contested and defeated." (More Election 2020 stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X