arizona grand jury 18 people indicted The people who posed the slate of electors that falsely claimed that former President Donald Trump won the state in 2020, or who helped organize the slate, pose a challenge for the 2024 election. It may help shape the
Wednesday's indictment is part of a campaign to prevent a repeat of 2020, when President Trump and his Republican allies falsely claimed victories in battleground states. filed dozens of lawsuits He unsuccessfully challenged Democrat Joe Biden's victory and tried to force Congress to allow Trump to remain in office. The campaign culminated in: January 6, 2021, Attack at the U.S. Capitol.
The fines piling up for this push also include lawyers who helped build President Trump's case. criticized,authorized And recommended for these people Disarmament.Plus it costs millions of dollars defamationPenalty And now he faces criminal charges in four states. spread lies About the 2020 election.That effort also included submitting fake elector He argued that Mr. Trump actually won each state and that Congress should certify those states rather than the electors won by Mr. Biden.
David Becker, founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research and co-author of The Big Truth, said of the dangers of election deniers in 2020: “People are thinking a lot about what they can do to undermine elections.'' There will be a need,” he said. “The deterrent effect is real.”
Trump himself is facing federal rates for his efforts to overturn the election and for separate charges. Fulton County, Georgia. The Supreme Court heard the case on Thursday. argument As for Mr. Trump's claim that he should be immune from prosecution for his actions while president. The justices appeared poised to reject the argument, but some indicated reservations over the federal charges, which could delay the case until after the November election.
Justin Levitt, a former Justice Department official who also worked in the Biden White House, weighed in on the pace of influence of Trump and those he called the former president's “aides” in challenging the 2020 election results. pointed out that they are different.
“One of the biggest drivers of deterrence is agility and rigor,” Levitt said. “The wheels of justice are turning slowly but surely, and we are seeing the consequences for the lieutenants of this conspiracy.”
Some of the far-reaching implications may have come from the prosecution of Arizona's so-called fake electors. michigan and nevada, all states with Democratic attorneys general.Several people were also targeted in Georgia's wide-ranging indictment charged Concerning a sham election scheme.
The 18 people indicted in Arizona include Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and a lawyer who was recently named director of election integrity for the Republican National Committee. Including Christina Bobb. Trump was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.
“This is not some kind of game. This is not some kind of fantasy football league,” Arizona Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said in an interview Thursday. “This is real, and bad actions can have real bad consequences.”
The breadth of Arizona's indictment, announced by Attorney General Chris Mays, led to harsh criticism from some out-of-state defendants.
Charles Burnham, a lawyer for John Eastman, who advised President Trump on his 2020 legal battle and faces disbarment in California and the possibility of further criminal charges in Georgia, said “partisan The phenomenon of “legal issues'' is becoming more worrying day by day.''
This comes after 16 alleged Trump electors were indicted for claiming their candidate won Michigan, six in Nevada, and three in the Fulton County, Georgia, case.
In a speech in Georgia earlier this year, Mr. Eastman said that fake Trump electors in Wisconsin made Mr. Biden's victory in the state a condition of resolving a civil lawsuit filed by two Democratic congressmen. He agreed and pointed out how he had to promise not to become an elector in 2024. He portrayed it as part of a broader effort to quash dissent to the 2020 election. review, talk and audit All were affirmed in every battleground state where Trump contested his loss. Biden's victory.
“The government has spoken and if you don't bend the knee we're going to destroy you,” Eastman said.
Prosecutors have different views on their cases.
“As we prepare for the 2024 presidential election, today's charges not only seek justice for the wrongs of the past, but also ensure that they never happen again,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “This is the first in a continuing effort to prevent this from happening.” Last year, when her office was indicted.
Beyond the indictments, Congress has taken an important step in blocking further avenues of election fraud.a bipartisan bill The bill, which Biden signed into law in 2022, would make it harder for rivals to submit slates of electors, and only electors certified by state governors would be required to be certified by Congress.
“The field of alternate electors has narrowed incredibly,” said Edward B. Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University.
The 65 Project is an organization created to pursue legal discipline against lawyers involved in filing dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits challenging President Trump's 2020 loss. The group's managing director, Michael Teter, said the threat was already having a dampening effect on public enthusiasm. election denier In a lawsuit challenging a number of defeats in the 2022 polls.
“I don't think we'll see the same kind of effort to exploit the justice system in 2024,” Teter said, adding that he has hope for President Trump. challenge the results What if he loses the vote? “But I don’t think they would use the court system in the same way, and I don’t think they would take advantage of something like election fraud.
“I don't think many people would want to register again.”
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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.
