Trump allies face high-stakes hearing in Arizona election subversion case – Boston News, Weather, Sports

(CNN) — An Arizona judge will hear arguments Monday that could determine whether several allies of former President Donald Trump could face prison sentences if convicted of participating in a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

It will be the first high-stakes hearing since a grand jury brought criminal charges against the Arizona fake voters and several Trump allies — including former president Rudy Giuliani's former lawyer, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Christina Bobb, who is now the Republican National Committee's top attorney on election integrity — earlier this year.

Lawyers for Trump allies argue that prosecutors are seeking to impose too harsh a sentence to compel the defendants to cooperate.

Arizona's attorney general has charged Trump's allies with committing multiple felonies in one go — a designation under state law that means a conviction would likely result in prison sentences rather than the lesser sentences given to first-time offenders.

Arizona Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen, appointed in 2005 by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, will hear arguments from both sides at Monday's hearing and his decision will ultimately define the stakes of the case moving forward.

Prosecutors will also deny allegations that they failed to provide enough evidence linking some of the defendants to an alleged conspiracy during secret grand jury proceedings.

The crucial hearing comes just days after Trump, who has not been charged in the Arizona case but is described in court documents as an “unindicted co-conspirator 1,” held a rally in the key swing state as part of his 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump has avoided having to stand trial in either of two criminal cases in which he has been accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election, but Monday's hearing in Arizona underscores how many of those who sought to help the former president stay in power still face significant legal exposure as a result.

Most members of the Arizona grand jury that indicted 18 Trump allies for their alleged role in trying to overturn the 2020 election had also expressed interest in indicting the former president.

The interest was strong enough to prompt the state's top prosecutor to ask the grand jury not to indict the former president and to give a PowerPoint presentation to explain his reasoning, according to court documents.

Trump was indicted federally for his efforts to overturn Joe Biden's legitimate victory in the 2020 election by special counsel Jack Smith and in Georgia by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Prosecutors will raise their request that the grand jury not indict Trump at Monday's hearing in an effort to rebut defense attorneys' claims that the case is politically motivated and should be dismissed.

While Trump has not been charged in the Arizona election subversion case, the investigation remains ongoing and prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility of charging more people, including the former president, if evidence emerges to support that move, sources tell CNN.

Meanwhile, Arizona prosecutors are continuing their case against the 18 others charged and are eyeing a potential trial date in early 2025.

Arizona prosecutors scored their first victory earlier this month when former Trump 2020 campaign attorney Jenna Ellis agreed to cooperate in exchange for having charges against her dropped.

Ellis is expected to testify against other defendants in the criminal case as part of her deal. She was initially charged with multiple counts related to her alleged role in attempting to plant false voter registration records as part of a broader conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results on Trump’s behalf.

One of the Arizona fake voters facing state-level criminal charges also reached a plea deal with prosecutors earlier this month.

Loraine Pellegrino, who signed the fraudulent document at the center of the state attorney general's case, agreed to plead guilty to the forgery charge against her and the remainder of her charges were dropped.

Like other Arizona fake voters and Trump allies charged in the case, Pellegrino faced multiple felonies for her alleged role in the alleged conspiracy.

The other defendants in the Arizona case, including several prominent members of the state Republican Party and Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who remains one of Trump's closest advisers, have pleaded not guilty.

Meadows hearing next month

Separately, lawyers for former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows say the Arizona indictment “directly relates” to Meadows’ official conduct as Trump’s last chief of staff and that his case should therefore be transferred to federal court.

“Nothing that Mr. Meadows is charged with doing in the indictment is criminal in and of itself. Rather, the allegations are that he received (and sometimes responded to) messages from individuals who were trying to push ideas on President Trump or who sought to inform Mr. Meadows about the strategy and status of various legal efforts by the President’s campaign,” they wrote in a federal court filing.

“This is precisely the kind of state interference with the functions of a federal official that the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits, and that the recall statute protects from any determination in state court,” the lawyers argued.

U.S. District Judge John Tuchi scheduled a hearing for Sept. 5. Tuchi was a nominee of then-President Barack Obama.

Meadows is no stranger to this legal ploy. Last year, he launched a similar suit in Georgia after being indicted in Fulton County on similar election subversion charges in 2020.

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