Wednesday, April 25, 2024 – Former US 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 the then-U.S. president, in an indictment that names Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator.
The indictment, unsealed on Wednesday, April 24, stems from
the attempt by Trump and his allies to pressure election officials in several
states to overturn the presidential election won by Joe Biden, efforts for
which Trump has been indicted in Georgia and in federal court.
The court papers list "a former U.S. president,"
referring to Trump, as an unindicted co-conspirator.
The indictment in Maricopa County Superior Court names 11
defendants and redacts the names of seven others. Arizona Attorney General Kris
Mayes said in a press release announcing the charges that those names would be
made public after all of the defendants had been served with the indictment.
Giuliani is among those whose names are redacted, a
spokesperson for him, Ted Goodman, confirmed, criticizing the prosecution of
the former New York mayor as political.
Another defendant whose name was redacted is described in
the indictment as chief of staff in 2020, the position Mark Meadows held in the
Trump White House at that time.
Trump, Giuliani and Meadows are also co-defendants
in the Georgia case, where they are charged with a racketeering conspiracy to
overturn Biden's victory in that state. They have pleaded not guilty there.
Trump has also pleaded not guilty in the
federal election-subversion case in Washington.
Trump, a Republican, says all the cases are a political
"witch hunt" to prevent him from defeating Democrat Biden in this
year's presidential rematch.
Another defendant whose name is redacted is Trump lawyer
Christina Bobb, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung confirmed, calling the Arizona
indictment "another example of Democrats' weaponization of the legal
system."
"Christina Bobb is a former Marine Corps officer, who
served our nation and the President with distinction. The Democrat platform for
2024: if you can't beat them, try to throw them in jail," Cheung said.
Giuliani spokesperson Goodman also called the Arizona
indictment an example of "the continued weaponization of our justice
system," saying it "should concern every American as it does
permanent, irrevocable harm to the country."
"Mayor Rudy Giuliani - one of the most effective
prosecutors in American history who took down the Mafia, cleaned up the streets
of New York and locked up corrupt public officials - is proud to
stand up for the countless Americans who raised legitimate concerns surrounding
the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election," Goodman said.
The indictment alleges 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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