PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s highest court has rejected prosecutors’ attempt to appeal a ruling requiring the state’s fake elector case to return to a grand jury, dealing another blow to efforts to prosecute Mark Meadows, President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and other defendants connected to the 2020 presidential election.
The court’s decision represents yet another obstacle for Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, who continues facing challenges advancing this complex case through the judicial system. Officials from Mayes’ office announced they will present the entire case to a grand jury once more instead of abandoning the prosecution altogether.
This latest development follows the dismissal of comparable cases in Michigan and Georgia by courts there, along with a special prosecutor’s decision to drop federal charges in late 2024 that accused Trump of plotting to reverse the 2020 election outcome. Related prosecutions involving fake elector schemes continue moving forward in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.
A Phoenix-area lower court judge determined in May that the initial grand jury reviewing this case had not been presented with the text of the Electoral Count Act, legislation from the 19th century that establishes procedures for certifying presidential elections and which defendants cited in their legal defense.
Attorneys representing the defendants contended that this law permitted multiple groups of electors to submit their votes to Congress when election results faced disputes, although lawmakers modified the statute in 2022 to clarify that states may only send one group of electors and that governors must provide approval.
No progress has occurred in Arizona’s case at the trial court level since mid-May.
Former President Joe Biden secured victory in Arizona during 2020 with a margin of 10,457 votes.
