The far-left States United Democracy Center (SUDC) provided a 47-page legal memo to Attorney General Kris Mayes on July 25, 2023, the Daily Signal reported last week, outlining a plan for her to prosecute the alternate electors for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election and a few others associated with the effort.
Mayes is currently prosecuting most of those listed in the memo. Despite President-elect Donald Trump winning the 2024 election earlier this month, Mayes said she will not stop the prosecutions, unlike some other prosecutors who are backing off on their Trump-related prosecutions.
Brad Miller, the incoming Pinal County Attorney who is currently representing former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward and her husband Michael Ward, told The Arizona Sun Times he believes that if the judge grants the defendants’ request for a hearing on their anti-SLAPP motion, there’s a good chance he will ultimately dismiss the case. The defendants said they believe the prosecution violates the state’s anti-SLAPP law, which prohibits using the courts to suppress the First Amendment. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
He explained that if the judge grants a hearing, they can ask about the motivations of the prosecutors, which is not normally allowed in criminal trials. Miller said discovery on the SLAPP motion will reveal if there was collusion between Mayes’ office, the Biden administration, and SUDC. “They’re accusing Trump officials of colluding with their arguments but they’re doing the exact same thing,” he said.
Miller said he’s noticed the prosecution is getting “bogged down since they have no legitimate theory; they haven’t had a legitimate theory from the very beginning.” He said this is why it took them “months and months to present to the Grand Jury — and even then the Grand Jury wasn’t unanimous in indicting.” He said prosecutors are still sending out subpoenas since they don’t have enough evidence. “How much evidence do they need until they find a crime?” he asked.
The memo, titled “Arizona False Electors Scheme Memo,” referred to “fake electoral votes” and “fake electors.” It recommended that Mayes should charge in in three categories. Category 1 included those directly involved, both in Arizona and located outside the state, such as Rudy Giuliani. Category 2 included those who were somewhat involved, “but more evidence is needed to establish the extent of their involvement,” such as Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar John Eastman. Category 3 listed those possibly involved, such as Trump.
SUDC blamed attorney Kenneth Chesebrough as the “main legal architect” who provided information on how to prepare alternate elector slates in seven states. While SUDC refers to Chesebrough’s information as a “fake elector scheme,” alternate electors have been presented throughout history in presidential elections. In Hawaii, two were proposed in the 1960 election, and one was not certified by the government.
The memo is full of sweeping conclusions like “although they were not legally authorized to do so…” SUDC asserted that historical research from Eastman showing that vice presidents have exercised substantive authority in the past when deciding whether or not to accept electoral slates from disputed states was part of the wrongdoing. Without providing any evidence, the SUDC said that “Eastman also pressured Pence and then-Chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, to assist in the scheme.”
However, during the State Bar of California’s disciplinary trial against Eastman, it emerged that he provided advice to Pence, McDaniel, Trump, and others regarding various options. Renowned constitutional legal scholar John Yoo, a professor at Berkeley Law School, testified extensively during the trial about historical presidential elections in which vice presidents exercised substantive authority.
The SUDC recommended six state crimes to charge the defendants with. They were Forgery, Tampering with a Public Record, Criminal Impersonation, Presentment of False Instrument for Filing, Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, and Conspiracy. The memo went through each crime, explaining how each element would apply to the defendants, such as intent and knowledge. Then, it reviewed each potential defendant by name, outlining the case against each one.
The memo laid out possible defenses the defendants might come up with, refuting them in advance. They included relying on advice of counsel, good faith mistake of fact or law, statutes of limitation, and reliance on historical precedent such as the alternate Hawaiian electoral slates in 1960.
The SUDC concluded that although the defendants weren’t successful in changing the election outcome, “their actions caused grave harm.” It didn’t explain what the grave harm was. It said prosecution was “critical” to serve as a deterrent to others.
According to Influence Watch, a project of the Capital Research Center, SUDC was formed in 2020 to “coordinate left-leaning advocacy groups and Democratic campaign committees in the event that then-President Donald Trump lost and subsequently contested the results of the 2020 Presidential Election.” After the 2020 election, SUDC’s legal team got involved in opposing attempts by Trump and the Republican Party to contest the election and opposing audits. SUDC also worked to oppose Republican-backed election administration laws and proposals and to get legislation passed barring the J6 protesters from running for office.
The original judge assigned to the case, Bruce Cohen, recused himself after it became public that he circulated an email to the other judges in Maricopa County Superior Court urging them to defend Kamala Harris against accusations she was a DEI hire. He said it was even more important for his white colleagues to speak up.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers, who previously clerked for a Democratic Senator and was appointed to the bench by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, was assigned to replace Cohen. Miller said the defendants are asking for Myers to give them a completely new hearing since Cohen’s work on the case so far was tainted by his political bias.
Miller noted that a backlash is beginning to occur against Mayes. “Democrats are starting to turn against her,” he said. “She needs this prosecution to hold sway over her base, the extreme left. They’ll crucify her if she backs off. She stuck herself into this position. This is no different than her investigation of Trump.” Mayes recently withdrew that prosecution.
The alternate electors in Arizona are:
- Kelli Ward
- Michael Ward
- Nancy Cottle
- Loraine B. Pellegrino
- Tyler Bowyer
- Jake Hoffman
- Anthony T. Kern
- James Lamon
- Robert Montgomery
- Samuel I. Moorhead
- Greg Safsten
In addition to Eastman, Trump’s former attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Christina Bobb, and Jenna Ellis, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, campaign advisor Boris Epshteyn, and former campaign aide Mike Roman were also indicted.
Ellis agreed to testify against the others to get her charges dropped. Pellegrino, whose husband was dying and has since passed away, accepted a plea deal due to the difficulty it would have entailed to undergo the lengthy proceedings and trial.
A trial has been set for 2026. Trump cannot pardon any defendants since presidents can only issue pardons for federal crimes. Governors issue pardons for state crimes.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kris Mayes” by Kris Mayes.
