Meadows, Giuliani and other former Trump aides indicted in Arizona 2020 election probe

An Arizona grand jury on Wednesday indicted former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and five other former aides to former President Donald Trump on felony charges related to alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Eleven Arizona Republicans have also been indicted on the felony charges, along with former Trump attorneys John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and Christina Bobb, according to the Washington Post. 

Trump was also listed as an unindicted co-conspirator, Politico reported. The names of the seven Trump allies were redacted on the indictment, but descriptions of them have made it clear who they were. The charges include allegations of conspiracy, fraud and forgery.

“Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters,” the 58-page indictment states.

The charges mark the end of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes's year long investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged efforts to award the state’s electoral votes to Trump instead of Biden. The president won the state by 10,457 votes in 2020.

"We conducted a thorough and professional investigation over the past 13 months into the fake electors scheme in our state," Mayes said in a video announcing the charges. "I understand for some of you today didn’t come fast enough. And I know I’ll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all. But as I’ve stated before, and we’ll say here again, today, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined."

The indictment makes Arizona the fourth state to seek criminal charges over the Trump campaign's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Michigan, Georgia, and Nevada are also seeking charges for people who tried to form an alternate slate of electors.