Mayes asking Arizona Supreme Court to review lower court ruling that would have returned case to grand jury. Court had set Friday deadline for decision.
PHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes is keeping the “fake electors” case alive.
Mayes will ask the Arizona Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that would have sent the case back to a grand jury, 12News confirmed Friday.
The Friday deadline was set by the Arizona Supreme Court after Mayes asked for time to decide on how to respond to a lower court ruling that had stalled the case for the last six months.
In a statement released later Friday, Mayes said:
As Arizona’s top law enforcement officer and top prosecutor, it’s my job to uphold the law and protect Arizonans. An independent grand jury of ordinary Arizonans found that there was sufficient cause to charge the defendants with the alleged crimes. These defendants were charged based on two things: the facts and the law. We remain squarely focused on ensuring the defendants are held accountable because there is nothing more important than enforcing the rule of law.
The Democratic AG, who is running for re-election, could have done one of three things:
-Drop the case, which she could have done by doing nothing by the Friday deadline. The case would then have been dismissed by the state Supreme Court.
-Ask the state Supreme Court to review a trial court’s ruling that she must take the case back to a grand jury for new indictments.
-Go back to the grand jury.
Mayes started her investigation shortly after taking office in January 2023. She announced the indictments in April 2024.
Her predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, had declined to investigate the fake electors. A Washington Post report two months after Brnovich left office revealed he had suppressed his own staff’s findings that refuted accusations of widespread election fraud in 2020.
Ten of President Donald Trump’s 11 Arizona electors for the 2020 election are among the remaining 16 defendants, including former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward, Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman and Turning Point Action executive Tyler Bowyer.
They are accused of signing a phony document on Dec. 14, 2020, that purported to present themselves as the “duly elected” Arizona electors, despite Joe Biden’s state-certified victory in Arizona.
Two defendants, former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis and Republican elector Loraine Pellegrino, struck plea deals.
Several of the defendants have filed appeals of the charges.
Trump was identified in the Arizona indictment as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Trump recently pardoned Arizona’s “fake electors” along with a number of other high-profile supporters who attempted to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Presidential pardons don’t apply to state-level charges or convictions.
Arizona is one of five states where criminal charges were brought against Trump electors.
Similar prosecutions in Nevada and Georgia have recently resumed after long delays.