PHOENIX (AP) — A judge will hear arguments Monday in a Phoenix courtroom on whether to indict Republicans who signed a document falsely claiming Donald Trump won Arizona in 2020 and others accused of plotting to overturn the presidential election. .
At least a dozen defendants are seeking dismissal under an Arizona law that prohibits the use of frivolous legal action to silence critics. The law had long provided protection in civil cases, but the Republican-led legislature changed it in 2022 to cover most criminal charges.
The defendants allege that Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes tried to use the charges to silence them about their constitutionally protected speech about the 2020 election and actions taken in response to the outcome of the race. They say Mayes campaigned for an investigation into the voter fraud case and had shown bias against Trump and his supporters.
Prosecutors say the defendants have no evidence to support their claim of retaliation and crossed the line from protected speech to fraud. Mayes’ office has also said the grand jury wanted to consider indicting the former president, but prosecutors told them not to.
A total of 18 Republicans were charged with forgery, fraud and conspiracy. The defendants consist of 11 Republicans who submitted a document claiming Trump won Arizona, two former Trump aides and five lawyers associated with the former president, including Rudy Giuliani.
So far, two defendants have settled their cases.
Former Trump campaign prosecutor Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with Giuliani, signed a cooperation agreement with prosecutors that led to the dismissal of her charges. Republican activist Loraine Pellegrino also became the first person convicted in the Arizona case when she pleaded guilty to a felony charge and was sentenced to probation.
The rest of the defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff to the president, is trying to move the charges to federal court, where his lawyers say they will seek to have the charges dismissed.
Trump was not charged in Arizona, but the charges point to him as an unindicted co-conspirator.
In the filing, Mayes’ office said that while grand jurors were considering possible indictments, prosecutors asked them not to indict Trump, citing U.S. Justice Department policy that limits indicting someone for the same crime twice. The prosecutor also did not know if the authorities at the time had all the necessary evidence to indict Trump.
Eleven people nominated for the Arizona Republican primary gathered in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign an affidavit stating that they were “duly elected and qualified” voters and claiming that Trump had carried the state in the 2020 election.
President Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes. At the time, the Arizona Republican Party posted a minute-long video of the signing event on social media. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.
Prosecutors in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin have also filed criminal charges over the scheme to rig the election. Arizona authorities announced the felony charges in late April.
