Current:Home > reviewsAttorney John Eastman pleads not guilty to felony charges in Arizona’s fake elector case -Prime Money Path
Attorney John Eastman pleads not guilty to felony charges in Arizona’s fake elector case
View
Date:2025-04-15 01:56:28
PHOENIX (AP) — Attorney John Eastman pleaded not guilty on Friday to conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges for his role in the effort to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in Arizona to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Eastman, who devised a strategy to try to persuade Congress not to certify the election, is the first person charged in Arizona’s fake elector case to be arraigned.
Eastman made a brief statement outside the courthouse, saying the charges against him should have never been filed.
“I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona (and) zero involvement in any of the election litigation in Arizona or legislative hearings. And I am confident that with the laws faithfully applied, I will be fully be exonerated at the end of this process,” Eastman said. He declined to make further comment.
Arraignments are scheduled May 21 for 12 other people charged in the case, including nine of the 11 Republicans who had submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Trump had won Arizona.
The Arizona indictment said Eastman encouraged the GOP electors to cast their votes in December 2020, unsuccessfully pressured state lawmakers to change the election’s outcome in Arizona and told then-Vice President Mike Pence that he could reject Democratic electors in the counting of electoral votes in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump himself was not charged in the Arizona case but was referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Charges have not yet been made public against Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump-aligned attorney, but he was readily identifiable based on descriptions of the defendants in the indictment. No arraignment date has been scheduled for Giuliani. Arizona authorities say they have been unable to serve Giuliani with the notice of the charges.
Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows is scheduled to be arraigned on June 7.
Last year, Eastman was indicted on racketeering, conspiracy and other charges in a scheme to overturn the 2020 president election in Georgia. He has pleaded not guilty to the Georgia charges. Eastman also is named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the sprawling federal indictment filed in Washington against Trump for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol.
Arizona is the fourth state where allies of the former president have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election.
The 11 people who had been nominated to be Arizona’s Republican electors met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were “duly elected and qualified” electors and claiming that Trump carried the state. A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.
Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes.
Of the eight lawsuits that unsuccessfully challenged Biden’s victory in the state, one was filed by the 11 fake Arizona electors, who had asked a federal judge to de-certify the results and block the state of Arizona from sending results to the Electoral College. In dismissing the case, the judge concluded the Republicans had “failed to provide the court with factual support for their extraordinary claims.” Days after that lawsuit was dismissed, the 11 participated in the certificate signing.
Multiple in-person attempts were made to serve Giuliani with the notice but a doorman at his New York City apartment wouldn’t accept it, said Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose office is prosecuting the case. Taylor said efforts by the attorney general’s office to reach Giuliani by phone also were unsuccessful.
veryGood! (44618)
Related
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- West Virginia’s personal income tax to drop by 4% next year, Gov. Justice says
- Why Jana Duggar Says It Was “Disheartening” Watching Her Siblings Getting Married First
- Dennis Quaid talks political correctness in Hollywood: 'Warned to keep your mouth shut'
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Fubo convinces judge to block Disney sports streaming service ahead of NFL kickoff
- AP Week in Pictures: Global
- A look at college presidents who have resigned under pressure over their handling of Gaza protests
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Could Alex Murdaugh get new trial for South Carolina murders of wife and son?
Ranking
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- Jewish groups file federal complaint alleging antisemitism in Fulton schools
- Man who pulled gun after Burger King worker wouldn’t take drugs for payment gets 143 years in prison
- Could Alex Murdaugh get new trial for South Carolina murders of wife and son?
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Taylor Swift’s Eras tour returns in London, with assist from Ed Sheeran, after foiled terror plot
- Iowa proposes summer grocery boxes as alternative to direct cash payments for low-income families
- 10 service members injured, airlifted after naval training incident in Nevada: Reports
Recommendation
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
How Volleyball Player Avery Skinner Is Approaching the 2028 LA Olympics After Silver Medal Win
Family agrees to settle lawsuit against officer whose police dog killed an Alabama man
Australian Breakdancer Raygun Addresses “Devastating” Criticism After 2024 Olympics
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Olympic Runner Noah Lyles Reveals He Grew Up in a “Super Strict” Cult
College Football Playoff ranking release schedule: Dates, times for 2024 season
Australian Breakdancer Raygun Addresses “Devastating” Criticism After 2024 Olympics