Former U.S. President Donald Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani are among 18 people charged in Arizona with illegally seeking to claim the state's 2020 electoral votes for Trump. The indictment, unsealed on Wednesday, April 24, names Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator.
The charges stem from efforts by Trump and his allies to pressure election officials in several states to overturn the presidential election won by Joe Biden. The indictment in Maricopa County Superior Court names 11 defendants and redacts the names of seven others, including Giuliani. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes stated that the names of the redacted defendants would be made public after they had been served with the indictment.
Giuliani's spokesperson criticized the prosecution as political, while another defendant, described as the chief of staff in 2020 (Meadows), faces charges related to his role in the Trump White House at the time. Trump, Giuliani, and Meadows are also co-defendants in a similar case in Georgia, where they are charged with a racketeering conspiracy to overturn Biden's victory.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in the federal election-subversion case in Washington and has called all the cases a political "witch hunt." Spokespersons for Giuliani and Bobb (Trump lawyer) denounced the indictment as an example of the "weaponization of our justice system" and expressed concern about its impact on the country.
The indictment alleges that the defendants pressured the Maricopa Board of Supervisors, the Arizona Legislature, and then-Governor Doug Ducey to change the election results.
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