PHOENIX (CN) — Just a day after former President Donald Trump condemned election interference and political “lawfare” waged against him and his allies in a Phoenix campaign speech, two figures close to him pleaded not guilty to fraud and forgery charges stemming from Arizona’s so-called fake electors scheme.
Mark Meadows, who served as Trump’s chief of staff in 2020, and Mike Roman, who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and served him in the White House for two years, appeared virtually in Maricopa County court Friday morning to deny their involvement in an apparent conspiracy to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona and give the Grand Canyon State’s votes to Trump.
A state grand jury in April indicted Meadows, Roman and 16 others. Though neither of the men who entered pleas on Friday were among the 11 Republican electors who convened at the state GOP headquarters to sign a fraudulent document awarding the state’s electoral votes to Trump, the grand jury found probable cause to believe that both worked closely with Trump and others to coordinate the “fake electors.”
Before each presidential election, both the Democratic and Republican parties in each state select one elector for each congressional seat that state has. Arizona has 11. Once the popular vote in the state determines a winner, the governor certifies the electors chosen by the winning party, who then cast their votes in alignment with the popular vote.
The 11 indicted “fake electors” were chosen by the Republican Party, but weren’t certified because the candidate on the Republican ticket lost. Thus, they lacked authority to sign the certificate claiming to be electors and giving Arizona’s votes to Trump.
The indictment details communications between the defendants and Trump and Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, who was put in charge of organizing the Republican electors in Phoenix. Text messages show Meadows encouraging Republican leaders to send alternate votes to Congress when Trump’s team realized he had lost the election. It also includes messages between Roman and other conspirators considering the language of the certificates they would use to cast the improper votes.
Trump is named as a conspirator in the indictment, but isn’t charged. Both Meadows and Roman were also indicted alongside Trump in Georgia and in other states on similar charges.
Neither defendant made any comment during Friday’s arraignment, but Kurt Altman, an attorney representing Roman, contested the charges outside the courthouse.
“Mike Roman has no connection with Arizona,” Altman said. “So why he’s involved, why this indictment came in the first place is beyond us.”
He said the charges against Roman and others in multiple states are intended to overwhelm the defendants.
“It sure does seem like they’re trying to spread these folks very thin,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a war of attrition, and it looks like there might be a concerted effort to get people to give up. Mr. Roman does not plan on giving up.”
Roman has 30 days from Friday to turn himself in for booking and fingerprinting. He has no bond, and will be released immediately. Meadows has already been booked.
The only defendant facing bond is former New York Mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, who pleaded not guilty in May alongside state Senator Anthony Kern and others. His $10,000 secured bond is retaliation for Giuliani’s lack of cooperation so far in the process, state prosecutor Nicholas Klingerman said.
Giuliani has until June 21 to self-book.
Three remaining defendants will be arraigned on June 18.
The next public hearing in the case is July 2, and a tentative trial date will be selected on October 31. But the case likely won’t go to trial until late 2025 at the earliest.
“There’s 18 defendants,” Altman said. “I’m sure there will be pretrial motions filed by everybody, so we’re probably in for the long haul.”
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