The Arizona grand jury that indicted 18 Republican supporters of donald trump who falsely claimed to have won the state in the 2020 election, wanted to consider also charging the former president, but prosecutors asked them not to, according to court documents filed this week.
Court records filed by the Arizona attorney general’s office contain exchanges between prosecutors and the grand jurors, who heard 18 days of testimony.
As grand jurors considered possible charges, a prosecutor asked them not to indict Trump, citing a U.S. Justice Department policy that limits charging someone with the same crime twice. The prosecutor, who is not identified in the records, also did not know whether authorities had all the evidence necessary to charge Trump at that time.
Ultimately, the grand jury indicted 18 people on forgery, fraud and conspiracy charges, including the 11 Republicans who filed a document falsely claiming that Trump had won Arizona, five lawyers linked to the former president and two former Trump aides. Trump.
Although Trump has not been charged in the Arizona case, the indictment refers to him as an “unindicted co-conspirator.” The former president is accused in a federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Earlier this week, attorney Jenna Ellis signed an agreement with Arizona prosecutors, who will dismiss the charges against her in exchange for her cooperation. She pleaded guilty in Georgia last year to a criminal charge over efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in that state.
Additionally, Republican activist Loraine Pellegrino, who signed the document falsely claiming Trump had won Arizona, became the first person to be convicted in the state’s fake voter case. Prosecutors say she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of presenting a false document.
The remaining defendants pleaded not guilty.
President Joe Biden beat Arizona by 10,457 votes.
