Key facts
- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes dismissed a criminal case against 18 defendants, including Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani.
- The case alleged efforts to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election loss in Arizona.
- Mayes plans to seek a new indictment to circumvent a Friday deadline after losing an appeal.
- Defense attorneys successfully argued the original grand jury was not shown relevant parts of a certification law.
- The dismissal is the third state-level fake elector case to be dismissed.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced on Thursday the dismissal of a criminal case against 18 defendants, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who were accused of attempting to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election loss in the state.
This marks the third state-level fake elector case to be dismissed. Mayes stated her intention to seek a new indictment from a grand jury, a legal maneuver aimed at circumventing a Friday deadline for new proceedings. This action follows a recent appellate court ruling that found the original grand jury had not been presented with all relevant aspects of a law governing presidential contest certifications.
Courts have previously dismissed similar cases in Michigan and Georgia, and a federal case against Trump was dropped in late 2024 after he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris. Cases related to the fake elector scheme are ongoing in Nevada and Wisconsin. The Nevada case, initially dismissed in 2024 due to improper venue, was later refiled.
The Arizona case had been stalled for over a year while Mayes pursued the appeal. Defense attorneys successfully argued that Arizona law at the time permitted multiple slates of electors to be submitted to Congress in disputed election scenarios. However, federal law was amended in 2022 to mandate a single slate of electors per state, signed by the governor.
Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020 by 10,457 votes. The case, filed over three and a half years after the election, faced significant challenges, including the recusal of the first judge in late 2024 and numerous dismissal requests from defense attorneys. Of the 18 defendants, three have resolved their cases, including one misdemeanor plea, while the rest pleaded not guilty, with some asserting the false elector certificate was a contingency.