A state lawmaker, eight other Arizona Republicans and two Donald Trump allies indicted in the state’s fake electors scheme filed in front of a Maricopa County superior court commissioner and pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges today.
So far, all but one defendant have avoided paying any bond to ensure appearance. The court entered an order Tuesday requiring Donald Trump confidante Rudy Giuliani to appear in Arizona within 30 days for booking and post a $10,000 secured appearance bond after the state reported difficulty serving summons.
The latest wave of pleadings, in conjunction with the court schedule setting a trial date for mid-October, outlines the next steps in the criminal proceedings. Of the 18 people facing charges, 12 have entered not guilty pleas so far, leaving six more defendants to be arraigned in the coming weeks.
“We’d like to move this along as fast as we can,” assistant attorney general and prosecutor Nicholas Klingerman said. “There’s many motions to litigate.”
On April 23, the state grand jury indicted 18 people involved in an effort to submit an alternate slate of elector votes for Trump, despite certification from the Secretary of State that Joe Biden had won Arizona’s popular vote and confirmation from then-Gov. Doug Ducey that the state’s 11 electoral votes would be for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
At the center of the case is 11 Arizona Republicans:
- Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale;
- Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek;
- former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward;
- her husband Michael Ward;
- then-executive director of the state Republican Party Gregory Safsten;
- Republican National committeeman and chief operating officer of Turning Point USA, Tyler Bowyer;
- chair of the Arizona Republican Presidential Electors Nancy Cottle;
- secretary of the electors Loraine Pellegrino;
- former Senate candidate Jim Lamon;
- former chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee Robert Montgomery;
- and member of Gila County Arizona Republican Party Samuel Moorhead.
They met and recorded themselves signing off on a document falsely claiming to be “duly elected and qualified” electors and submitting a slate of votes for Trump.
The indictment names Trump campaign operatives and attorneys Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb, Michael Roman and Mark Meadows, too, who allegedly encouraged and helped organize Arizona Republican electors' votes.
All 18 defendants face nine felony counts each for fraud, forgery, and conspiracy.
Kern, the Wards, Bobb, Moorhead, Safsten and Montgomery appeared in front of Maricopa County Commissioner Shellie Smith in-person and Giuliani, Bowyer, Pellegrino, Cottle appeared virtually.
Not all defendants had secured an attorney. The court appointed Safsten a public defender after he said he lacked funds to hire a lawyer. Montomgery, too, requested court appointed counsel, though he noted the possibility of hiring separate counsel after the fact.
Giuliani appeared without counsel, though noted he would “shortly.”
Klingerman asked the court to enter “own recognizance” release orders, which allow defendants to forgo posting bail given a written vow to appear in court, for all defendants but Giuliani.
Given difficulty in serving Giuliani, Klingerman asked the court to order him to appear in Arizona within 30 days for booking and enter a $10,000 cash bond.
Klingerman told the court agents from the attorney general’s office spent weeks attempting to serve Giuliani. He said the two agents called Giuliani on multiple phone numbers, flew to New York, camped outside his condominium, where they were turned away by his doorman, and later flew to Florida, all the while Giuliani appeared on television and podcasts where he acknowledged the indictment and the agents’ attempts to serve him.
Klingerman rebutted Giuliani’s claim that he had told the agents where he was going to be and said he had accepted service like a gentleman. “He did not tell us where he was going to be,” Klingerman said. “I won’t go into semantics on whether he accepted service like a gentleman.”
Giuliani said he had made it publicly known where he was going to be.
“I’ve been on television and the radio every day since this indictment,” Giuliani said. “I started announcing where I am, so I haven’t been hiding from anyone.”
Giuliani said he had appeared on every occasion in criminal proceedings in other states with similar elector schemes and then called Arizona’s indictment part of a “completely political case” to “destroy Donald Trump.”
At which point, Smith said she did not want to mute Giuliani but said she needed to move on.
Smith granted the appearance order but instead levied a $10,000 secured appearance bond, which allows Giuliani to use assets instead of cash.
Today’s hearing marks the second arraignment for the electors case. Eastman pleaded not guilty on May 17. Hoffman is due in court on June 6, Meadows and Roman are scheduled to appear June 7, and Lamon and Epshteyn’s arraignment is set for June 18.
An initial pretrial conference is scheduled for July 2.
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