Former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and 16 other individuals have been indicted by an Arizona grand jury for their efforts to use so-called fake electors to try to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
The indictment, released Wednesday, names 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump won Arizona in 2020. Seven other defendants have not yet been publicly identified, as they have not yet been served with the charges.
The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to create and submit false electoral certificates claiming that Trump won Arizona, even though Joe Biden had actually won the state. The defendants allegedly knew that the certificates were false, but they submitted them to Congress in an attempt to overturn the election results.
Trump is described as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment, indicating that prosecutors believe he was involved in the scheme but do not have enough evidence to charge him at this time.
The indictment is a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. It is the first time that Trump’s close associates have been charged with crimes related to the attempt to overturn the election results.
