5 allies of Donald Trump officially named as co-conspirators in Arizona fake elector case
Apr 26, 2024, 1:21 PM
An image of attorney John Eastman is displayed during a House select committee hearing investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 13, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Eastman is one of 18 people indicted in the Arizona fake elector case. (Photo by Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Five allies of Donald Trump were officially named Friday as co-conspirators in the Arizona fake elector case, although media outlets had already reported their identities.
Attorneys John Eastman, Christina Bobb and Jenn Ellis; former Trump campaign aide Mike Roman; and Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn are among the seven defendants whose names were redacted in an indictment handed down by a grand jury Wednesday, Attorney General Kris Mayes announced.
There are two other co-conspirators who haven’t been officially named yet because they haven’t been served their indictments, prosecutors said.
However, media outlets have identified them as former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorney Rudy Giuliani based on details provided in the lengthy indictment document.
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Who was previously named in Arizona fake elector case?
Eleven alleged fake electors were named in the 18-person indictment when it was released: Kelli Ward, Tyler Bowyer, Nancy Cottle, Jacob Hoffman, Anthony Kern, James Lamon, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Lorraine Pellegrino, Gregory Safsten and Michael Ward.
They all met on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate falsely claiming they were “duly elected and qualified electors” and that Trump won in Arizona. The Arizona Republican Party posted video of the signing to social media that day.
Several of the alleged fake electors are high-profile members of the GOP. Kelli Ward was the Arizona Republican Party chair at the time, Hoffman and Kern are current state senators and Lamon ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2022.
Hoffman is chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, and Kern leads the Judiciary Committee.
What are the charges in Arizona fake elector case?
The charges listed in the nine-count indictment are conspiracy, fraud and forgery.
The allegations date back to the 2020 presidential election, where Republicans in seven states won by Joe Biden submitted false Electoral College certificates in a failed scheme to keep Trump in office.
Arizona is now the fourth state to bring charges in fake elector cases.
Politico reported earlier this month that two Arizona Republican congressmen, Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, were subpoenaed to testify for the grand jury looking into the fake elector case, but they were not indicted.
