Giuliani, Meadows indicted in Arizona fake elector scheme; Trump unindicted co-conspirator

(NEW YORK) — Several former and current key aides to former President Donald Trump appear to be among those charged by the Arizona State Attorney General over their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. They include Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and former Trump attorney John Eastman — as well Boris Epshteyn, who remains one of Trump’s closest advisers and a current member of his 2024 campaign team.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes also announced charges against 11 named alleged fake electors and seven people whose names are redacted in the filing for their alleged role in efforts to subvert Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state.

The charges include fraud, forgery, and conspiracy.

“Unindicted Coconspirator 1” in the indictment appears to be Trump as the language of the document says they were involved in a scheme to keep him and former Vice President Mike Pence “in office against the will of Arizona’s voters.”

Based on a review of descriptions of the seven redacted names in the Arizona indictment, the additional co-defendants are Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Boris Epshteyn (Trump 2024 senior adviser), John Eastman, Christina Bobb (RNC senior counsel for election integrity), Jenna Ellis and Mike Roman.

Rudy Giuliani

The indictment described one individual, appearing to match the description of Rudy Giuliani, as “the mayor” who “spread false claims of election fraud.”

The full description from the filing reads: “An attorney for Unindicted Coconspirator 1 who was often identified as ‘the Mayor.’ He spread false claims of election fraud in Arizona and nationally shortly after November 3, 2020. He presided over a ‘hearing’ in downtown Phoenix on November 30, 2020, where he falsely claimed that Arizona’s election officials ‘have made no effort to find out’ if the results of the recent presidential election were accurate. He pressured the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Arizona legislators to change the outcome of Arizona’s election, and he was responsible for encouraging Republican electors in Arizona and in six other contested states to vote for Trump-Pence on December 14, 2020.”

In a statement to ABC News Wednesday night, an adviser to Giuliani said, “The continued weaponization of our justice system should concern every American, from Arizona to Michigan and everywhere in between, as it does permanent, irrevocable harm to the country.”

Mark Meadows

The indictment also described another indicted individual as the “chief of staff” in 2020 — appearing to match Mark Meadows’s description.

Full description: “[REDACTED] was Unindicted Coconspirator 1’s Chief of Staff in 2020. He worked with members of the Trump Campaign to coordinate and implement the false Republican electors’ votes in Arizona and six other states.  was involved in the many efforts to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in power despite his defeat at the polls.”

Boris Epshteyn

The charging document details an attorney and adviser for Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns who helped implement “the scheme to submit false Republican electors.”

Full description: “[REDACTED] was an attorney and was an advisor to the Trump Campaigns in 2016 and 2020. in implementing the scheme to submit false Republican electors’ votes for Trump-Pence in Arizona and to obstruct the certification process during the January 6, 2021, Joint Session of Congress in Washington.”

John Eastman

The indictment details an attorney who “spread false claims of widespread election fraud” and pressured former Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers to convene a Special Session. Bowers has detailed how Eastman told him to “just do it and let the court sort it out.”

Full description: “[REDACTED] was an attorney who encouraged the Republican electors to vote on December 14, 2020, and spread false claims of widespread election fraud. He also pressured the legislature in Arizona and six other states to change the outcome of the election. For example, on January 4, 2021, pushed then-Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers to convene a Special Session to decertify Arizona’s presidential electors, telling him to ‘just do it and let the court sort it out.’ Bowers declined to do so. Also on January 4,  met at the White House with Unindicted Coconspirator 1, Pence, and others to convince Pence to reject or at least delay the confirmation of the lawfully chosen electors two days later at the Joint Session of Congress.”

Christina Bobb

The indictment describes an attorney for Trump who “lobbied” Arizona legislators and also helped organize the fake electors plot. Bobb was a part of the Trump campaign until recently being named the Republican National Committee’s senior counsel for “election integrity.”

Full description: “[REDACTED] Campaign and worked closely with  was an attorney for the Trump lobbied Arizona’s Republican legislators after the 2020 presidential election to disregard the popular vote in Arizona. She additionally helped organize the false Arizona Republican electors’ votes on December 14, 2020.”

Jenna Ellis

The charging document also lists an attorney who “worked closely” with another individual who was also charged and spread false election claims in AZ and six other states.

Full description: “[REDACTED] was an attorney for the Trump Campaign and worked closely with  She made false claims of widespread election fraud in Arizona and in six other states.  encouraged the Arizona Legislature to change the outcome of the election. She also encouraged Pence to accept the false Arizona Republican electors’ votes on January 6, 2021.”

Mike Roman

The indictment lists the “director of election day operations for the Trump Campaign,” which was Roman’s position.

Full description: “[REDACTED] was the Director of Election Day Operations for the Trump Campaign. He worked closely with  Unindicted Coconspirator 4, and others to organize the false Republican electors’ votes in Arizona and in six other states.”

Mayes said in a release all the names would be unredacted when all defendants have been served.

In a video posted to X Wednesday night, Mayes said the defendants charged were “unwilling to accept Arizona’s election was free and fair” and allegedly schemed to “prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency.”

“We’re here because justice demands an answer to the efforts of the defendants and other unindicted co-conspirators allegedly took to undermine the will of Arizona’s voters during the 2020 presidential election,” Mayes said.  

“Arizona’s election was free and fair. The people of Arizona elected President Biden. Unwilling to accept this fact, the defendants charged by the state grand jury, allegedly schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency,” she continued.

“Whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for and I was elected to uphold the law of this state,” Mayes added. “The scheme, had it succeeded, would have deprived Arizona’s voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president.”

In filing the indictment, Arizona becomes the fourth state to file criminal charges against the so-called “fake electors” who allegedly announced they were ready to pledge electoral votes to Donald Trump in their respective states during the 2020 election, despite Joe Biden winning those states.

The 11 current named defendants in the indictment whose names are visible on the court document are Kelli Ward, Tyler Bower, Nancy Cottle, Jacob Hoffman, Anthony Kern, James Lamon, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Lorraine Pellegrino, Gregory Safsten and Michael Ward.

According to the indictment, 11 Republicans met in Arizona in December 2020, including then-Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, two Republican lawmakers, and a top official with the Republican National Committee, and signed documents that falsely claimed they were Arizona’s rightful electors.

“Today, Arizona’s 11 Republican presidential electors met to cast their votes for President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence,” the Arizona GOP tweeted in December 2020. “With ongoing legal challenges to the 2020 presidential election still being heard in the courts across the country holding hearings on election fraud and voting irregularities, it is imperative that the proper elections are counted by Congress.”

All 11 alleged fake electors were also part of a legal challenge in the state that sought to challenge the election results based on allegations of voter fraud. The case was thrown out by a judge who called their claims of election fraud “sorely wanting of relevant or reliable evidence.”

Rusty Bowers, then the Arizona House speaker, told the House Jan. 6 committee that following the election he received calls from Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani claiming that there was election fraud in the state.

“I was insistent that I had to have proof, real proof, judicial level,” Bowers testified. “That’s the kind of proof I’m talking about. And the president said, ‘Rudy, give the man what he wants.'”

Asked by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl if Giuliani ever provided that evidence, Bowers said, “He never gave us anything. No names, no data, nothing.”

Bowers also said that Giuliani and attorney Jenna Ellis flew to Phoenix and met with him and other Arizona lawmakers, and asked them to convene the legislature to investigate their unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.

In December, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced felony charges against six alleged “fake electors” in that state. In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel similarly charged 16 “alternate electors” in July for conspiracy to commit forgery, among other charges. And in Georgia, three such “fake electors” were among the 18 co-defendants charged, along with Trump, in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state.

All defendants charged in all three probes have pleaded not guilty, with Georgia defendants Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell and Scott Hall subsequently taking plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify in that case. In Michigan, the attorney general dropped all charges against defendant Jim Renner in exchange for his cooperation.

ABC News previously reported that Trump’s Georgia co-defendant Michael Roman was subpoenaed as part of the Arizona probe and that Chesebro sat for a voluntary interview with Arizona investigators in recent weeks.

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