Meadows, former Trump aide plead not guilty in Arizona election case

Jared Gans

7 June 2024 at 2:07 pm·2-min read

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump aide Michael Roman pleaded not guilty Friday to nine felony charges related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona.

The two defendants appeared virtually at separate hearings in which their lawyers entered their not guilty pleas. The trial date is set for Oct. 31.

Meadows and Roman are just two of the 18 individuals charged in a wide-ranging indictment surrounding steps that the defendants are alleged to have taken to delegitimize President Biden’s victory in the state in 2020 and falsely declare former President Trump the winner.

Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and several others charged in the case pleaded not guilty to all charges last month.

Others who have been charged include the 11 individuals who signed documents — including former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward — claiming to be the legitimate electors in Arizona and falsely asserting that Trump had won the state’s 11 electoral votes, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn and attorneys Jenna Ellis, John Eastman and Christina Bobb.

Prosecutors accused Meadows of working with Trump campaign members to submit the fake electors from Arizona and other states to Congress to claim that Trump had won. The indictment alleged Roman worked with other defendants like Giuliani and Epshteyn to organize the fake electors.

Roman served as the director of Election Day operations for Trump’s 2020 campaign.

Both Meadows and Roman have also been charged in connection with efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia and have pleaded not guilty. Arizona is one of five states where charges have been brought for individuals who attempted to overturn the election results.

Roman was also charged this week in Wisconsin on one count of forgery.

Roman’s attorney, Kurt Altman, told reporters that his client would fight the charges, saying that Roman “has no connection with Arizona” and “why this indictment came in the first place is beyond us.”

Epshteyn and one other fake elector are scheduled to be arraigned on June 18.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

The Independent
Seven people - including four kids - shot by neighbor who once told them to ‘go back to where they came from’
Motive still being investigated, but shooting ‘could’ have racial element, police say
The Independent
Bodycam footage released after 13-year-old boy shot and killed by police in New York
Body camera footage released by the department shows officers tackling the boy to the ground before firing a gun
The Independent
Prostitute is fatally strangled then sexually assaulted inside Las Vegas casino by man who said he ‘snapped’
Jason Kendall, 35, is being held without bond in connection to the murder of Larissa Garcia at a Las Vegas casino
CNN
A year ago, she drank battery acid to escape life under the Taliban. Today, she has a message for other Afghan girls
Arzo survived a suicide attempt but now faces a new threat that could send her family – and millions like them – back to Afghanistan and a life that has become so intolerable for women and girls that some would rather die.
The Telegraph
Democrats creating path for Joe Biden to make ‘dignified’ exit
Democrats are laying the groundwork for Joe Biden to make a “dignified” exit from the presidential race.
People
'Very Sweet Young Lady' Is Killed on Her 21st Birthday, Suspect in Custody
Joselyn Toaquiza was reported missing on Wednesday, June 19, the day after she turned 21, before police learned she'd been killed the day before
Evening Standard
US police shoot dead 13-year-old boy carrying a replica gun after New York state robbery
The boy and his friend had been stopped after a reported armed robbery
The Independent
‘A terrible disservice’: Biden slams Supreme Court immunity ruling, says it lets presidents ignore the law
President Joe Biden did not take questions after speaking on the Supreme Court ruling, despite questions swirling after his debate performance
The Independent
Marjorie Taylor Greene rages outside Bannon’s prison - but is interrupted by a ‘Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Body’ sign
The sign made reference to a name Rep Jasmine Crockett gave to Majorie Taylor Greene during a heated argument
The Telegraph
What are Marine Le Pen’s plans for France?
After Marine Le Pen’s National Rally walloped Emmanuel Macron in the first round of voting in the French elections, there is a real chance France could be governed by a hard-Right party for the first time since the Second World War.
People
Woman Was Killed by Man Her Mom Had Forced Her to Marry — and Now the Mother Is Convicted
Prosecutors in Australia said Sakina Muhammad Jan forced her daughter to marry a man she didn't want to wed in November 2019, weeks before he killed her
The Telegraph
Russia ‘studying captured ATACMS’
Russian forces have captured and are studying an intact guidance system from a long-range US-made ATACMS missile, according to reports.
CNN
Russia wants to confront NATO but dares not fight it on the battlefield – so it’s waging a hybrid war instead
When someone tried – and failed – to burn down a bus garage in Prague earlier this month, the unsuccessful arson attack didn’t draw much attention. Until, that is, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala revealed it was “very likely” that Moscow was behind it.
The Independent
Clarence Thomas just gave Trump ammunition in his classified documents case
The conservative justice goes rogue to lash out at Jack Smith’s credibility and authority
HuffPost
'Richard Nixon Would Have Had A Pass': John Dean Stunned By Trump Immunity Ruling
“Virtually all of his Watergate conduct” could easily fall into what the Supreme Court now says is official conduct, said Nixon’s former counsel.
NextShark
Chinese woman dies shielding Japanese mother and child from knife attack
Hu Youping, a school bus attendant in Suzhou, China, died after attempting to shield a Japanese mother and her child from a knife attack at a bus stop outside a Japanese school at around 4 p.m. on Monday. The mother and child suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The local government honored Hu as a “Righteous and Courageous Role Model,” and the Japanese embassy in China lowered its flag to half-mast in her memory.
People
Texas Teen Strangled Mom to Death, Then Stashed Body in Trunk and Drove to Nebraska
Tyler Roenz, who was 17 at the time of the killing, pleaded guilty to murder in connection with the 2022 death of his 49-year-old mother Michelle Roenz
The Independent
Biden warns Trump can do ‘whatever he pleases’ if elected as Republicans relish Supreme Court immunity ruling: Live updates
Former president’s battle to shield himself from criminal prosecution reaches its endgame
INSIDER
Deadly Russian Su-34 bombers are sitting ducks for Ukraine's ATACMS. But it can't attack without US approval.
Some of Russia's deadly Su-34 fighter bombers lie exposed on the tarmac of a military airfield just 100 miles from the border with Ukraine.
AFP News
Nepal jails 'Buddha boy' for 10 years over child sex abuse
A Nepali court on Monday sentenced a man whose followers believe him to be a reincarnation of Buddha to 10 years in prison for child sexual abuse.He was convicted of child sexual abuse last week by the court in Nepal's southern town of Sarlahi.

Latest stories