Following the Wednesday news that an Arizona grand jury issued subpoenas regarding the 2020 election contest, reports now claim prosecutors working under Attorney General Kris Mayes reportedly asked witnesses about former President Donald Trump and his direct involvement in the effort to challenge the election results in Arizona.
Subpoenas were sent on Wednesday by the grand jury investigating the challenge to the 2020 election results in Arizona. Multiple reports now confirm the grand jury targeted those involved with the effort to create an alternative slate of Electoral College electors in a bid to preserve the former president’s legal standing in various court cases.
Arizona AG Kris Mayes announced she is issuing subpoenas in a criminal investigation into Trump’s alternative electors. Arizona’s southern border is a disaster but Dems would rather focus on “getting Trump.” This is why very few will vote for Biden. pic.twitter.com/UMPWLy6PIp
— Charles R Downs (@TheCharlesDowns) March 7, 2024
Amid the reporting, both the left wing cable news outlet CNN and German-owned Politico reported that investigators asked witnesses questions about Trump’s direct involvement in the Arizona election contest.
Quoting sources familiar with the investigation, CNN claimed, “Arizona prosecutors have asked witnesses about meetings attended by Trump where the plan to put forward slates of fake GOP electors across the country was mentioned, including one in the Oval Office on December 16, 2020.”
The claim that Arizona prosecutors are asking about the former president was first advanced by Politico, which first broke news of the subpoenas.
“It was not clear whether Mayes is considering charges against people close to Trump’s national campaign, or whether her investigation remains focused on the Arizona GOP officials and activists who aided Trump’s bid to overturn the state’s presidential results,” the outlet acknowledged, before later adding that “Mayes’ team has also asked people about Trump himself.”
News about the 2020 election subpoenas comes as the Georgia case against Trump is derailed by revelation that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis dated the man she appointed as special prosecutor for the case.
The judge overseeing the Georgia case against Trump is expected to make a decision regarding whether Willis should be disqualified from the case by March 15 after defendants alleged impropriety due to vacations shared by Willis and Wade that were purchased using Wade’s credit card.
Though the Arizona investigation has been ongoing for some time, and Mayes (pictured above, left) previously described it as “robust,” the timing of the subpoenas led some to suggest the attorney general is acting now to distract from the Georgia case.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kris Mayes” by Kris Mayes.
