Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is one of 18 people charged in an Arizona indictment for an alleged “fake elector scheme,” according to state Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Giuliani’s name is one of seven redacted in the indictment alongside named defendants which include states Senators Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern, state Republican National Committee (RNC) member Tyler Bowyer, and former Arizona GOP chairwoman Kelli Ward.
Ted Goodman, a spokesman for the former mayor of New York City, confirmed that Giuliani’s name was one of the seven redacted, per Reuters. Goodman criticized the prosecution as “the continued weaponization of our justice system,” the outlet noted.
Though former president Donald Trump is not listed by name in the indictment, the filing does refer to “a former U.S. president” who is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.
The defendants are being charged with conspiracy; fraudulent schemes, artifices, and practices; and forgery.
In a video statement released Thursday evening, Mayes claimed Trump and his allies attempted to pressure election officials in multiple states to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“These defendants deceived the citizens of Arizona by falsely claiming that those votes were contingent only on a legal challenge that would change the outcome of the election,” she said. “In reality, the defendants intended that the false votes for Trump and Pence would encourage Vice President Pence to reject the certified Biden-Harris electors’ votes regardless of the result of any legal challenge.”
Mayes noted the charges are class two, four and five felonies.
“These are serious indictments,” she added. “But this is the first hurdle the state must pass in our constitutional criminal justice system. We intend to prove these crimes were committed beyond a reasonable doubt. However, it must be remembered that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and convicted by a jury of their peers.” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes releases the following video statement on the 18 individuals who were indicted for allegedly trying to subvert the 2020 election:
"The defendant Republican presidential electors allegedly plotting with additional defendants, then voted for Mr.… pic.twitter.com/c657GNumYU
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 24, 2024
“Before an investigation had even been conducted and with no evidence, Kris Mayes declared that she believed electors such as myself were guilty of a crime, that it was her job to get Biden re-elected, and that she would control the timing of the indictment,” Hoffman said in a statement. “Now, unsurprisingly, we see that she has weaponized the once respected Attorney General’s office to deliver an indictment of her Republican political opponents years after the events at issue, long after other Democrat prosecutors made their decisions, and right before Arizona’s primary elections.”
The state senator added: “Let me be unequivocal, I am innocent of any crime, I will vigorously defend myself, and I look forward to the day when I am vindicated of this naked political persecution by the judicial process.” Let me be unequivocal, I am innocent of any crime, I will vigorously defend myself, and I look forward to the day when I am vindicated of this disgusting political persecution by the judicial process.
Kris Mayes & the Democrats' naked corruption and weaponization of government… pic.twitter.com/PRWrqhtkyO
— Jake Hoffman (@JakeHoffmanAZ) April 25, 2024
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung confirmed that the former president’s attorney Christina Bobb was among the redacted names.
The Arizona Sun Times reports that other redacted names could include Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, campaign advisor Boris Epshten, former campaign aide Mike Roman, as well as attorneys John Eastman and Jenna Ellis.
“The ‘fake electors’ scheme involved alternate electors from seven states where Joe Biden was declared the winner,” The Epoch Times reports. “These electors pledged to support President Trump by casting ballots on Dec. 14, 2020, the date when electors nationwide were required to meet at state capitols to vote. While labeled ‘fake electors,’ they viewed themselves as contingent electors. They believed they were putting in a procedural vote for President Trump to reserve the right of such a vote in the case of President Trump succeeding in legal challenges reviewing the integrity of the state’s election outcome, adding that it was important to recognize that, ‘Constitution takes precedent over statute.’”
The alleged “fake electors” from Arizona include Nancy Cottle, Jim Lamon, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorehead, Loraine Pellegrino, Greg Safsten, and Michael Ward.
Arizona is now the fourth state to bring charges against alleged “fake electors.” Previous indictments have been issued in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada.