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.