Judge deals blow to Arizona case over 2020 Republican electors

Washington Post

19-05-2025

An Arizona judge has ordered state prosecutors to send back to a grand jury a case in which Republicans were charged last year for their alleged roles in trying to overturn the 2020 election, potentially jeopardizing the high-profile indictments.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam J. Myers sided with the Republicans and found that prosecutors failed to provide the grand jury with the text of an 1887 federal law that is central to the Republicans' defense. The law, known as the Electoral Count Act, spells out how presidential electoral votes are to be cast and counted.
'We are extremely pleased with the court's ruling, and we think the judge got it exactly right,' said Stephen Binhak, the attorney who spearheaded the effort to get the case back to a grand jury.
The decision is a major setback for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D), who promised to appeal the ruling so she could keep the prosecution going.
An Arizona grand jury last year indicted 18 people as part of the effort to reverse Joe Biden's 2020 presidential win in the state, including seven attorneys and aides affiliated with Donald Trump's national campaign and 11 Arizona Republicans, including some who sought to act as presidential electors.
Among those who were indicted were White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Christina Bobb, top campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn and former campaign aide Mike Roman. The grand jury accused them of unsuccessfully trying to award the state's electoral votes to Trump instead of Biden even though Biden won the popular vote there.
The motion to send the case back to a grand jury was made on behalf of Tyler Bowyer, a Turning Point Action executive and ally of Trump.
Trump's campaign and allies also targeted other swing states to try to throw Biden's victory into doubt ahead of Congress's count of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021, which culminated in a riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The ruling, filed with the court clerk on Monday, will require Mayes to assemble a grand jury to present the case along with a copy of the Electoral Count Act, attorneys said. The initial presentation of her case took weeks. Mayes plans to appeal the decision to try to get the prosecution back on track.
'We vehemently disagree with the court, and we will file a special action to appeal the ruling,' Mayes spokesperson Richie Taylor said.
Paul Charlton, a former U.S. attorney, said it is 'highly unusual' that a motion for remand amounts to a death knell for prosecutions. However, he said, sending cases back to a grand jury for presentation by prosecutors and consideration by jurors, takes time and resources.
'In that regard, it is a successful ploy by defense attorneys,' Charlton said. 'Delay is one of the most effective defenses available.'
State prosecutors in four other swing states — Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin — have filed charges against 2020 GOP electors or those who helped them.