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Judge in Arizona ‘fake elector’ case against several Trump allies sets 2026 court date

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on August 26, 2024

(PHOENIX) — The judge overseeing the Arizona “fake elector” case that charged several Trump allies with alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state has set a trial date of Jan. 5, 2026.

At a hearing in Phoenix on Monday, Arizona Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen heard several motions from the defendants’ attorneys including some motions to dismiss the case.

Many of the defendants, including Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, appeared virtually.

An attorney for former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani argued in court that the allegations against Giuliani are not crimes and instead amount to free speech.

“The way I see it, is that in every instance where they’ve alleged Mr. Giuliani has done something in this indictment, it’s all conduct related to his constitutional right, freedom of speech, to petition the government,” the attorney said.

An attorney for Jim Lamon, one of the so-called fake electors, argued at length that the charges in the indictment against his client are “insufficient” and that his client was told to be a “duly qualified elector” by state party chair Kelli Ward.

Ward, Lamon’s attorney said, told Lamon that the documents he signed purporting that Trump won Arizona “was vetted out by lawyers all throughout the administration.”

“That’s what he was told,” Lamon’s attorney argued.

“I think we can agree [Lamon] was not part of the Trump campaign,” Lamon’s attorney added. “There’s no evidence he talked to Trump or the campaign at all.”

Krista Wood, an attorney with the Arizona attorney general’s office, asked for a protective order over the grand jury proceedings, citing “several leaks” in other similar cases, including the Fulton County election interference case case in Georgia.

“Given the number of defendants and defense counsel, there’s a larger probability of that type of information being leaked,” Wood said of the grand jurors’ names.

All those indicted in the case pleaded not guilty earlier this summer to charges of fraud, forgery, and conspiracy for their alleged efforts to overturn the state’s election results. Trump’s former attorney Jenna Ellis subsequently reached a cooperation agreement with prosecutors in exchange for the state dropping the charges against her.