Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is dismissing a case that alleged President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and others tried to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss in the state.

Background

The decision marks the third such fake elector case filed by states to be dismissed. Courts have dismissed similar cases in Michigan and Georgia, and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.

In Arizona, defense lawyers 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.

Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020 by 10,457 votes. The state attorney general has faced steep challenges in making her case, which was filed nearly three and a half years after the 2020 election and levels complicated conspiracy charges against the 18 defendants.

Next Steps

The case has factored into Arizona’s attorney general race, where both Republican challengers to Mayes have publicly said they will dismiss the charges if they were elected to the post. Mayes is vowing to bring the case back to a grand jury in hopes of securing another indictment.

Original reporting: WTVQ (Lexington) — read the source article.