- Meadows, Giuliani indicted in Arizona election scheme
- Trump linked but not prosecuted; case highlights democracy integrity
- Legal battles ensue; Supreme Court to review presidential accountability
A grand jury in the state of Arizona has indicted sixteen individuals, including Mark Meadows, the chief of staff for Donald Trump, and Rudy Giuliani, an attorney, on charges related to their purported involvement in nullifying the former president’s defeat in the 2020 election.
Eleven Republicans are charged in the indictment issued late Wednesday by the state attorney general. The document in question was erroneously submitted to Congress, wherein it claimed that Trump had secured the crucial state for 2020.
They include two incumbent state legislators, a former state party chair, and a 2022 US Senate candidate. Each individual has been accused of nine counts of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery.
The attorney general redacted the identities of the remaining seven individuals, including Giuliani and Meadows, because they had not been formally served with the documents. Nevertheless, their descriptions sufficed to identify them.
The indictment refers to Meadows’s position as chief of staff in the Trump White House in 2020.
Although not prosecuted, Trump was designated as an unindicted accomplice.
Following a year-long investigation by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, into how Republicans managed the 2020 presidential election in a crucial swing state that Joe Biden won by a mere 10,457 ballots, the charges were formally lodged.
Currently, the southwestern state joins Michigan, Georgia, and Nevada as the fourth states to press charges against Trump allies who disseminated unverified or fabricated allegations regarding voter fraud.
“I will not permit the undermining of American democracy,” Mayes declared in an office-issued video. “It is far too critical.”
However, Trump and his supporters persist in asserting that Biden won the 2020 presidential election, even as the former president prepares to confront the incumbent Democrat in November.
Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger, stated that he had not yet reviewed the indictment but that “it is a blatantly political and politicised accusation that will be contested and defeated” if Meadows is named.
“Continued weaponization of our justice system should concern every American, as it causes permanent, irreparable harm to the nation,” replied Giuliani’s spokesman, Ted Goodman.
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Trump has personally been implicated in four criminal prosecutions. The first case was tried in New York this month. It allegedly involves “hush money” payments to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence following her denial of a sexual encounter with Trump. He is accused of fabricating business documents to obscure the payments that were made before the 2016 presidential election.
In August, a federal court also indicted the former president on charges of attempting to retain power following his defeat in the 2020 election. On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court will deliberate on Trump’s contention that he cannot be held accountable for actions he carried out during his presidency.
An election interference case in the state of Georgia and a federal case in Florida about the misuse of classified documents comprise the remaining two indictments.
