PHOENIX (AP) — One of the three remaining criminal cases stemming from efforts by President Donald Trump's supporters to overturn the 2020 election results appears headed back to a grand jury in Arizona.
The case began in April 2024 when an indictment sought by Arizona’s Democratic attorney general charged 18 Republicans with forgery, fraud and conspiracy, accusing them of trying to undo former President Joe Biden’s victory in the state by 10,457 votes.
In a decision released Thursday, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected Attorney General Kris Mayes’ request to avoid sending the case back to the grand jury. Mayes had hoped to continue pushing forward through the courts without having to start over at the grand jury level.
An appeal sent the case to the state’s highest court after defense attorneys argued successfully that the original grand jury hadn’t been shown the relevant parts of a law that governs how presidential contests are certified.
The most recent ruling marked another setback for Mayes, whose case has been stalled for over a year. The attorney general's office said it will again present the case in its entirety to a grand jury rather than end the prosecution. It declined to comment further on the decision.
The ruling came after similar cases in Michigan and Georgia were dismissed by the courts and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. All three cases ended after Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Cases related to the fake elector scheme are ongoing in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.
In Arizona, defense lawyers have 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.
Mark L. Williams, an attorney representing Giuliani, applauded the state Supreme Court’s latest decision and questioned whether Mayes’ office will carry through on its promise to bring the case back to the grand jury. “In my mind, the whole thing is meritless,” Williams said. “Mr. Giuliani has done nothing wrong.”
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 have 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.
