Former Trump aides Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani and GOP boss in charge of electoral integrity are among 18 indicted by Arizona grand jury 'for trying to overthrown 2020 election result'

Former Trump aides Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows, as well as RNC election integrity lawyer Christina Bobb are among 18 indicted by an Arizona grand jury for allegedly trying to steal the 2020 election. 

Former President Donald Trump has been named an unindicted co-conspirator in a new grand jury indictment against the 18 Arizona Republicans and Trump allies who falsely declared Trump won the state in 2020.

Eleven Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Donald Trump beat Joe Biden in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election were charged Wednesday with conspiracy, fraud and forgery, marking the fourth state to bring charges against 'fake electors.'

It shows seven other defendants whose names were not immediately released because they had not yet been served with the charges but the descriptions matched Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Meadows and former Trump campaign operative Mike Roman. 

Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes' office said the names will be released after those people are served with the charges.

Former President Donald Trump is photographed Tuesday in Manhattan Superior Court during the Stormy Daniels hush money trial. A state investigator said the former president would be considered an 'unindicted co-conspirator' in the Michigan fake electors scheme 

Seven other defendants whose names were not immediately released because they had not yet been served with the charges but the descriptions matched Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows 

Former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward and her husband Michael have been indicted

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'

'I will not allow American democracy to be undermined,' Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a video released by her office. 'It´s too important.' 

A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.

Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes. Of the eight lawsuits that unsuccessfully challenged Biden´s victory in the state, one was filed by the 11 Republicans who would later sign the certificate declaring Trump as the winner.

Their lawsuit asked a judge to de-certify the results that gave Biden his victory in Arizona and block the state from sending them to the Electoral College. 

In dismissing the case, U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa said the Republicans lacked legal standing, waited too long to bring their case and 'failed to provide the court with factual support for their extraordinary claims.'

Days after that lawsuit was dismissed, the 11 Republicans participated in the certificate signing. 

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.

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis

Ex-White House aide Boris Epshteyn

John Eastman (pictured left), a former dean of Chapman University’s law school and an advisor to former President Donald Trump

Ex-White House aide Boris Epshteyn, former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis and John Eastman, a former dean of Chapman University’s law school and an advisor to former President Trump, are also on the list. 

The Arizona charges come after a string of indictments against fake electors in other states.

In December, a Nevada grand jury indicted six Republicans on felony charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument in connection with false election certificates. They have pleaded not guilty.

Michigan´s Attorney General in July filed felony charges that included forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery against 16 Republican fake electors. 

One had charges dropped after reaching a cooperation deal, and the 15 remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty.

A state investigator testified Wednesday that he considers former President Donald Trump, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to be uncharged co-conspirators in the Michigan fake electors plot. 

Howard Shock, whose work led to forgery charges against more than a dozen people in Michigan, was being cross-examined Wednesday in Lansing as part of a hearing Wednesday to determine if there's enough evidence to order a trail. 

A defense attorney, Duane Silverthorn, offered a series of names and asked Shock if they were 'unindicted co-conspirators,' which means they weren't charged but could have been part of an alleged plot to put Michigan's electoral votes in Trump's column. 

Republican Arizona State Sen. Anthony Kern (pictured left) and Sen. Jake Hoffman (pictured right) were also charged. Kern, who was photographed in restricted areas outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, is now a candidate in Arizona´s 8th Congressional District

Greg Safsten, a former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party (pictured left) and energy industry executive James Lamon (pictured right) are also on the list

Robert Montgomey, chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee in 2020 (pictured left), was also indicted

Shock responded 'yes' to Trump, Meadows, Giuliani and some high-ranking state Republicans. 

In Michigan, authorities said more than a dozen Republicans sent certificates to Congress falsely declaring they were electors and that Trump was the winner of the 2020 election in the state, despite results showing he had lost. 

Trump is in court this week for the Stormy Daniels hush money case after the jury selection process wrapped up last week. 

In Georgia, Trump, Giuliani and others are charged with conspiracy related to the filing of a Republican elector certificate in that state following the 2020 election.

Meadows is also charged in Georgia but not in relation to the elector scheme. They have pleaded not guilty.

An indictment by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith charging Trump with plotting to overturn the election also accuses the former president in a fake elector scheme and identifies six unnamed and unindicted co-conspirators, including Giuliani.

In Wisconsin, ten Republicans who posed as electors settled a civil lawsuit, admitting their actions were part of an effort to overturn Biden´s victory. There is no known criminal investigation in Wisconsin.

Trump also was indicted in August in federal court over the fake electors scheme. 

Also indicted: Tyler Bowyer (pictured left), an executive of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who serves on the Republican National Committee and Nancy Cottle, who in 2020 was the first vice president of the Arizona Federation of Republican Women (pictured right with Trump)

Loraine Pellegrino (pictured right), president of the Ahwatukee Republican Women, was also charged

Samuel Moorhead, a Republican precinct committee member in Gila County

Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign operative, was also indicted

The indictment states that when Trump was unable to persuade state officials to illegally swing the election, he and his Republican allies began recruiting a slate of fake electors in battleground states - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - to sign certificates falsely stating he, not Biden, had won their states.

In early January, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said that state´s five Republican electors cannot be prosecuted under the current law. 

In New Mexico and Pennsylvania, fake electors added a caveat saying the election certificate was submitted in case they were later recognized as duly elected, qualified electors. No charges have been filed in Pennsylvania.

In Arizona, Mayes´ predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, conducted an investigation of the 2020 election, but the fake elector allegations were not part of that examination, according to Mayes´ office.

In another election-related case brought by Mayes´ office, two Republican officials in a rural Arizona county who delayed canvassing the 2022 general election results face felony charges. 

A grand jury indicted Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby in November on one count each of conspiracy and interference with an election officer. Both pleaded not guilty.