Arizona Republicans charged in 'fake electors' case can't afford lawyers: reports

Several Republicans charged in the Arizona fake electors case are unable to afford legal counsel, according to a new report.

According to KPNX's Brahm Resnik, one of those fake electors is Greg Safsten, the former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, who told the judge presiding over his case he was indigent and was given a public defender.

Also receiving a public defender is Robert Montgomery, the former chair of the Cochise County Republican Committee.

Safsten and Montgomery are two of 19 people indicted as part of the investigation into the scheme to declare fake electors and block certification of President Joe Biden's victory in the state.

The scheme was one of a number of similar plans enacted in battleground states around the country, although in none of them did anyone succeed in blocking certification of valid electors.

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Among the others charged in the Arizona indictment are Trump-aligned lawyers John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, and Christina Bobb, and Trump advisers Mike Roman and Boris Epshteyn.

Some of the attorneys were also previously charged as part of the Georgia election racketeering scheme alongside Trump himself, although that case is currently on hold pending an appellate review of an ethics hearing of Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis' romantic relationship with a former subordinate.

Complicating the drama is that prosecutors in Arizona have had difficulties serving the indictment to Giuliani, who was ordered to surrender to authorities within 30 days at a hearing on Tuesday. Giuliani, for his part, has denied evasion of service, and has blamed security at his apartment in New York City for the inability to be served. "I have a fair number of threats, including death threats, and I don't have security any longer since I've been in bankruptcy. So I have very, very strict rules about who gets up and who doesn't," he said.