Arizona fake electors prosecution hits roadblock as court declines appeal

The Arizona Court of Appeals on
Monday declined to take up Attorney General Kris Mayes’ appeal of a
lower court’s decision to send the Arizona fake electors case back to a
grand jury. 

In the order, signed by Chief Judge Kent Cattani, the court said the decision was made based on the judges’ discretion.

In April 2024, an Arizona grand jury indicted 18 people
for their involvement in efforts to fraudulently overturn the results
of the 2020 presidential election after Democrat Joe Biden won the state
by around 10,000 votes. 

All of the fake electors involved in
the scheme were indicted, including Arizona Sen. Jake Hoffman, leader of
the Arizona Freedom Caucus, former Arizona Sen. Anthony Kern, member of
the Arizona Freedom Caucus and Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point USA CEO.

But in May, Maricopa County Superior
Court Judge Sam Myers agreed with arguments from attorneys representing
the fake electors that prosecutors had failed to disclose the full text
of the Electoral Count Act to the members of the grand jury prior to the
indictment. Myers ruled that Mayes would have to convene a new grand
jury and share the text of the act in its entirety if she wanted to move
forward with the case. 

Instead, Mayes appealed the decision
to the Arizona Court of Appeals. Now that the appellate court has
declined the case, Mayes’ next steps are either to petition the Arizona
Supreme Court to reverse the trial court’s decision or to take the case
back to a grand jury. 

In response to the Appeals Court’s
decision, the Arizona Republican Party issued a statement reiterating a
claim from many of the indicted that the case was politically motivated.

“Arizona families deserve an Attorney
General who prosecutes criminals, not political opponents,” AZGOP
Chairwoman Gina Swoboda said in the statement. “Five years later, Kris
Mayes is still fixated on 2020 while violent crime, fentanyl
trafficking, and border chaos threaten our communities every single day.
This obsession is not justice — it’s politics.”

Also among the indicted were Kelli
Ward, who led the AZGOP at the time, Gregory Safsten, who was the
AZGOP’s executive director, and former Trump staffers and campaign
members including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and Christina Bobb.