Legal woes pile up for Trump allies: Giuliani, Meadows, and more indicted in Arizona election interference case
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- Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows are among those indicted in an Arizona election interference case.
- Multiple Trump allies and Arizona GOPers were charged with felony counts, including conspiracy.
- The indictment also appeared to list former President Donald Trump as "Unindicted Coconspirator 1."
Prosecutors charged Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and a slate of Arizona Republicans with multiple felonies in a 58-page indictment made public on Wednesday. The charges are related to what prosecutors allege were efforts to overturn the 2020 election in favor of Donald Trump, who was also deemed an unindicted coconspirator in the case.
The indictment, which was obtained by The Washington Post, was handed up by a grand jury on Wednesday in Maricopa County, Arizona. Prosecutors charged the defendants with conspiracy, fraudulent schemes and artifices, fraudulent schemes and practices, and forgery.
In the indictment, prosecutors accused the defendants of trying to keep Trump in the office of the presidency "against the will of Arizona's voters."
Eleven Arizona GOP "fake electors" were named as defendants; they were each charged with nine felony counts.
Other defendants' names were redacted. The Post reported that they included former Trump lawyers Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, and Christina Bobb; former Trump campaign aide Mike Roman; and Trump campaign advisor Boris Epshteyn. Giuliani's and Meadows' names were also redacted from the indictment. The Post said descriptions of the individuals' actions made their identities evident, and that the names were redacted until the individuals could be served the indictment
Ted Goodman, a political advisor to Giuliani, said in a statement to Business Insider when reached about the indictment: "The continued weaponization of our justice system should concern every Americans as it does permanent, irrevocable harm to the country."
Meadows, Ellis, Eastman, Bobb, Roman, and Epshteyn, or their representatives, did not respond to requests for comment from BI. The Arizona Republicans did not respond to requests for comment or could not be reached.
George Terwilliger, a lawyer for Meadows, told the Post he hadn't seen the indictment but said, "If Mr. Meadows is named in this indictment, it is a blatantly political and politicized accusation and will be contested and defeated."
The indictment also referred to "Unindicted Coconspirator 1," who is described as "a former president of the United States who spread false claims of election fraud following the 2020 election." Another four people who are not named are referred to as unindicted coconspirators.
A representative for Trump and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
Arizona was one of several states, including Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada, in which so-called fake electors tried to cast electoral votes for Trump despite Joe Biden winning the election in their state.
The Arizona attorney general's office did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
The indictment comes as Trump runs for president again while also facing several criminal cases, including two cases related to efforts to overturn the election— one in Georgia and one at the federal level — and one related to documents found at Mar-a-Lago. Trump is currently on trial in New York for a case related to a hush-money payment.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all four cases.