Arizona’s top prosecutor refuses to abandon a twice-stalled criminal case against President Donald Trump’s allies even after the state’s highest court slammed the door on her latest appeal.
Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office will bring the matter back before a grand jury rather than walk away, Mayes spokesman Richie Taylor told Politico after the Arizona Supreme Court rejected her bid to salvage the original indictment. A spokesperson also confirmed the plan to the Arizona Mirror. The case had been dismissed over a judge’s finding of a flaw in the grand jury indictment. It targeted Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman and 11 people accused of trying to act as fake electors, among others.
The justices denied the appeal in a ruling made public Thursday, the Associated Press (AP) reported. A Phoenix judge had ruled in May that the first grand jury was never provided the language of the Electoral Count Act, a 19th-century statute the defendants reportedly leaned on for a defense. (RELATED: Dem AG Releases Indictment Alleging ‘Fake Elector Scheme,’ Charges 18 People Allegedly Including Fmr Trump Connections)
Defense lawyers welcomed the outcome. “In my mind, the whole thing is meritless,” Mark L. Williams, an attorney for Giuliani, told the AP. “Mr. Giuliani has done nothing wrong.”
Williams also doubted Mayes would actually follow through on returning to a grand jury, according to the outlet.
The fake electors case in Arizona is starting over, after the state’s Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Attorney General Kris Mayes. https://t.co/HF4uooKJgw
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) June 4, 2026
Skepticism about her motives surfaced earlier. Dennis Wilenchik, a lawyer for 2020 elector Jim Lamon, argued that the case “will ultimately fail” but alleged that Mayes would “string it out” beyond the 2026 election “to appease her voters,” Axios reported.
Eighteen Republicans in all faced forgery, fraud and conspiracy charges, Fox 10 Phoenix reported.
Indictments connected to the 2020 election have taken place elsewhere. Georgia’s case unraveled after prosecutor Fani Willis was disqualified in December 2024. Special counsel Jack Smith’s federal case ended shortly after Trump won in 2024. A Michigan judge dismissed charges against alleged “fake electors” in September 2025. Nevada and Wisconsin still have pending cases, Politico reported.