PHOENIX (AP) 鈥� A judge will hear arguments Monday in a Phoenix courtroom over whether to throw out who signed a document falsely claiming Donald Trump won Arizona in the 2020 election and others who are accused of scheming to overturn the presidential race鈥檚 outcome.
At least a dozen defendants are seeking a dismissal under an Arizona law that bars using baseless legal actions in a bid to silence critics. The law had long offered protections in civil cases but was amended in 2022 by the Republican-led Legislature to cover people facing most criminal charges.
The defendants argue Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes tried to use the charges to silence them for their constitutionally protected speech about the 2020 election and actions taken in response to the race鈥檚 outcome. They say Mayes campaigned on investigating the fake elector case and had shown a bias against Trump and his supporters.
Prosecutors say the defendants don鈥檛 have evidence to back up their retaliation claim and they crossed the line from protected speech to fraud. Mayes鈥� office also has said the grand jury that brought the indictment wanted to consider , but prosecutors urged them not to.
In all, 18 Republicans were charged with forgery, fraud and conspiracy. The defendants consist of 11 Republicans who submitted a document falsely claiming Trump won Arizona, two former Trump aides and five lawyers connected to the former president, including .
So far, two defendants have resolved their cases.
Former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with Giuliani, with prosecutors that led to the dismissal of her charges. Republican activist Loraine Pellegrino also became the in the Arizona case when she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to probation.
The remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Former Trump presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows is , where his lawyers say they will seek a dismissal of the charges.
Trump wasn鈥檛 charged in Arizona, but the indictment refers to him as an unindicted coconspirator.
In a filing, Mayes' office said as grand jurors were considering possible charges, a prosecutor asked them not to indict Trump, citing a U.S. Justice Department policy that limits the prosecution of someone for the same crime twice. The prosecutor also didn鈥檛 know whether authorities had all the evidence they would need to charge Trump at that time.
Eleven people who had been nominated to be Arizona鈥檚 Republican electors met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were 鈥渄uly elected and qualified鈥� electors and claimed Trump had carried the state in the 2020 election.
President Joe Biden by 10,457 votes. A of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document later was sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.
, , and have also filed criminal charges related to the fake electors scheme. Arizona authorities in late April.
Jacques Billeaud, The Associated Press
