On Sunday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) confirmed that she intends to continue with the state’s case against the “fake electors” linked to President-elect Trump, despite his recent win in the 2024 election.
The case, scheduled for trial in January 2026, involves accusations against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, ex-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and over a dozen others for their alleged involvement in a scheme to undermine the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, Mayes emphasized that the election outcome would not deter her from pursuing justice. “I have no intention of dropping that case,” she stated. “A grand jury in Arizona determined these individuals should be held accountable for attempting to overthrow our democracy in 2020.”
Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani faces charges in Arizona’s 2020 “fake electors” investigation
She added, “We won’t be intimidated, and patriots nationwide must stand up for the Constitution and what is lawful.” Meadows, Giuliani, and 14 other defendants still face charges in the case, all of whom have pleaded not guilty.
The charges against Giuliani include spreading false election fraud claims and pressuring officials to alter the election outcome. Prosecutors also allege that he led a post-election gathering in Phoenix where he accused officials of failing to verify the accuracy of the results.
In addition, several of the so-called fake electors signed a document falsely declaring that Trump had won Arizona in the 2020 election. The plot also involved a plan to have then-Vice President Mike Pence certify false Trump electors in states won by Biden or cast doubt on the legitimacy of the results.
Pence refused to do so, and tensions from this scheme contributed to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Trump, although not facing charges in this case, is named as “unindicted co-conspirator 1” in the legal documents. He has been charged in a separate Georgia case related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results there.
Other states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada, have also filed charges related to the fake electors plot, though Nevada’s case was dismissed in June, with the decision currently under appeal.
