While the New York hush money trial involving former President Donald Trump took its weekly Wednesday hiatus, Trump, along with his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorney Rudy Giuliani, faced new legal challenges.
The three were named as unindicted co-conspirators in the Michigan attorney general’s case against the state’s “fake electors” from the 2020 election, where Trump and his allies allegedly tried to overturn the results of his loss to Joe Biden.
Last year, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 16 Republicans with forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The individuals allegedly attempted to replace Michigan’s electoral votes for Biden with votes for Trump during the certification of the vote on Jan. 6, 2021.
During Wednesday’s preliminary examinations for the “fake electors,” Howard Shock, a special agent for the attorney general’s office, testified that Jenna Ellis, a former Trump attorney, is also an unindicted co-conspirator in the case.
The revelation came on the heels of a grand jury indictment in Arizona that named 18 of Trump’s closest advisers, including Meadows and Giuliani. They are accused of involvement in a similar “fake elector” scheme aimed at keeping Trump in office despite his defeat in the 2020 election.
The indictment alleges that after President Biden’s victory, Trump’s allies conspired to redirect Arizona’s 11 electoral votes to Trump. Among those indicted are prominent GOP figures, including a former Republican Party of Arizona chair, a Republican national committeeman, an executive at Turning Point USA and its political arm, and two sitting state senators — one of whom wields significant political influence at the Arizona Capitol.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes emphasized the gravity of the charges, noting that those indicted must face consequences.
“Whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for, and I was elected to uphold the law of this state,” Mayes asserted.
“The scheme, had it succeeded, would have deprived Arizona’s voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president. It effectively would have made their right to vote meaningless.”
Trump is currently on trial in New York for allegedly making illegal hush-money payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up his extramarital affair with her. He has also been indicted in Georgia, Washington, and Florida on 88 felony counts related to the 2020 election and the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Earlier this year, a judge determined that Trump committed “massive business fraud,” and ordered him to pay more than $450 million in penalties.
A jury also found the presumptive GOP nominee responsible for sexually assaulting a writer. A judge ordered Trump to pay the victim, E. Jean Carroll, nearly $90 million in damages.