Jun 18, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Final defendants arraigned in Arizona fake electors case plead not guilty

Rebecca Falconer

Jenna Ellis reads a statement after pleading guilty to a felony count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, inside Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee's Fulton County Courtroom at the Fulton County Courthouse October 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. — Jenna Ellis in Atlanta, Georgia, in October. Photo: John Bazemore-Pool/Getty Images

Trump associates Jenna Ellis and Boris Epshteyn and former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Lamon pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to nine felony charges in Arizona's fake electors case, per multiple reports.

The big picture: They're the final three to be arraigned in a case that's seen 18 charged over alleged efforts to give Arizona's electoral votes to former President Trump instead of President Biden, who won the state in 2020.

All 18 have now pleaded not guilty to the felony counts for conspiracy, fraudulent schemes and artifices and forgery.
These include former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Details: Epshteyn, who is Trump's in-house counsel; Ellis, a former Trump legal adviser who pleaded guilty to a felony in Georgia's 2020 election case; and Lamon were permitted to "remain out of custody and travel, conditions the Attorney General's Office did not oppose," per the Arizona Republic.

None of the trials in Phoenix are expected to begin before the November presidential election, according to the New York Times.

Zoom out: In addition to the Arizona and Georgia prosecutions, similar cases have been brought in Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada.

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Final defendants arraigned in Arizona fake electors case plead not guilty

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