PHOENIX (AP) — In a significant development, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has decided to drop a major criminal case that accused key figures from the Trump administration, including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona. This announcement, made on Thursday, adds to a series of similar cases being dismissed across the country.
This marks the third instance where states have dismissed cases involving fake electors, yet Mayes, a Democrat, is determined to pursue justice. She plans to present the case once more to a grand jury, aiming for a new indictment. This strategic move is intended to circumvent a looming Friday deadline for initiating new grand jury proceedings, following a setback earlier this month when an appeal she filed was unsuccessful. The appeal was necessary after defense lawyers effectively argued that the original grand jury was not adequately informed about pertinent laws governing the certification of presidential elections.
Elsewhere, courts in Michigan and Georgia have also dismissed similar cases, and a special prosecutor abandoned a federal case in late 2024 that accused former President Trump of conspiring to reverse the 2020 election outcome. These legal battles concluded after Trump emerged victorious over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 elections. Nevertheless, ongoing legal challenges related to the fake elector scheme persist in Nevada and Wisconsin.
In Nevada, the charges were initially dismissed in 2024 when a judge determined that Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, was an inappropriate venue for the case. However, later that year, the case found new life when it was refiled in Carson City, the state capital.
The Nevada charges were dismissed in 2024 after a judge concluded Clark County, the state’s most populous county and home to Las Vegas, was the wrong venue for the case. Later that year, though, the case was refiled in Carson City, Nevada’s capital.
The Arizona case had been stalled for well over a year while Mayes pursued the appeal.
In Arizona, defense lawyers argued the law allowed for multiple slates of electors to be submitted to Congress in case the results were disputed. Federal law was amended in 2022 to specify that any given state could put forward only one slate of electors and that state governors are responsible for signing off.
Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020 by 10,457 votes.
The state attorney general has faced steep challenges in making her case.
It was filed nearly three and a half years after the 2020 election and levels complicated conspiracy charges against the 18 defendants. A dozen dismissal requests filed by defense attorneys have slowed progress in court.
The first judge on the case recused himself in late 2024 after an email surfaced in which he told fellow judges to speak out against attacks on Harris’ campaign for the presidency. The next judge ordered the case to be sent back to a grand jury.
Of the 18 Arizona defendants, two were former Trump aides, five were lawyers working for Trump and 11 were Republicans who submitted a document falsely claiming Trump won Arizona.
Three defendants have resolved their cases, including one who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.
The rest pleaded not guilty. Some said they signed the certificate in case Trump won court challenges and a new slate of electors was needed urgently before Congress’ Jan. 6 deadline to tally votes.
The case has factored into Arizona’s attorney general race, where both Republican challengers to Mayes have publicly said they will dismiss the charges if they were elected to the post.