Former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump 2020 Election Day Operations Director Michael Roman pleaded not guilty in Phoenix to nine felony charges related to efforts to overturn Trump’s Arizona election loss to Joe Biden. The indictment alleges that Meadows worked with other Trump campaign members to submit names of fake electors from Arizona and other states to Congress in an attempt to keep Trump in office despite his defeat. Roman is accused of working with Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn to organize the fake electors’ votes in Arizona and six other states.
The document also alleges that 11 Arizona Republicans submitted false paperwork declaring Trump as the winner in Arizona, despite Biden winning the state by over 10,000 votes. Meadows reportedly confided in a White House staff member in early November 2020 that Trump had lost the election. Giuliani and three other individuals faced similar charges in May and in June, including John Eastman, Christina Bobb, and Jenna Ellis. Roman’s attorney, Kurt Altman, expressed confidence in fighting the charges against his client, emphasizing that Roman has no connection to Arizona.
Meadows and Roman had previously pleaded not guilty in Georgia state court to charges related to an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 election results. Roman was also charged in Wisconsin with forgery for allegedly delivering fake elector paperwork to a congressman’s staffer in Pennsylvania on January 6, 2021, during the certification of the election results by Congress. Criminal charges related to the fake electors scheme have also been filed in other states, including Michigan, Nevada, and Georgia. Epshteyn, Ellis, and another Republican who claimed Trump won Arizona are scheduled to enter pleas on June 18.
The court hearings for Meadows and Roman were held via video conference before Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Shellie Smith, who set an October 31 trial date for the case. Both Meadows and Roman only responded to Smith’s questions with their names and birthdates during the hearings, with their attorneys speaking on their behalf to enter pleas of not guilty. Meadows was represented remotely by attorney Anne Chapman, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press. The defense for Roman and Meadows vowed to fight the charges against them as they face legal proceedings in multiple states.
