Former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, now faces the same charges as the other defendants in Arizona’s fake elector case, according to the state attorney general’s office.
Although Meadows wasn’t initially named in the grand jury indictment last week because he hadn’t been served, he has since been served and revealed to be facing nine felony counts.
Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger, has yet to respond to requests for comment. However, he previously dismissed the Arizona indictment as a “blatantly political and politicized accusation” that would be challenged and overcome.
Ex-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (Credits: PBS)
With these indictments, Arizona joins a growing list of states where Trump allies have been charged with spreading false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the 2020 election.
It’s worth noting that Joe Biden won Arizona by over 10,000 votes. Charges have not yet been made public against Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump-aligned attorney.
The case involves 18 defendants, including 11 Arizona Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely asserting that Trump had won the state. Among them are former state GOP officials, a candidate for the 2022 U.S. Senate race, and current state lawmakers.
Mark Meadows (Credits: CNN)
These individuals convened in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign a certificate declaring themselves as “duly elected and qualified” electors, claiming Trump’s victory in Arizona.
A brief video of the signing ceremony was shared on social media by the Arizona Republican Party. The document was subsequently sent to Congress and the National Archives, although it was disregarded.
Other defendants include individuals accused of orchestrating a scheme to use counterfeit documents to persuade Congress not to certify Biden’s victory, such as Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day operations, and four attorneys: John Eastman, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn, and Jenna Ellis.
