** Newsletter: Indictments for Arizona Fake Electors and Others
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]

Arizona on Wednesday became the fourth state — after Michigan ([link removed]) , Georgia ([link removed]) , and Nevada — ([link removed]) to pursue charges against individuals who signed false electoral certificates in support of former President Trump in 2020.
* The indictments ([link removed]) came in Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ investigation of the scheme to replace the valid electors in seven swing states with fraudulent certificates claiming their respective states had been won by Trump — and in the process overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss.
* In total, 18 people were indicted on felony charges: the 11 fake electors and seven Trump allies, including Christina Bobb — recently named the Republican National Committee’s “election integrity” lawyer — as well as Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, and Jenna Ellis.


“The Arizona Attorney General’s indictments are a vital step in holding accountable those who sought to interfere in the foundations of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power and the right to vote,” American Oversight’s interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said.
* “American Oversight’s investigations have revealed the extent to which the election denial movement has evolved since the failed electors plot, and how several of those indicted — including the RNC’s top ‘election integrity’ lawyer — remained integral to efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election long after Jan. 6.”


We first obtained the fake electoral certificates ([link removed]) in 2021, and through our investigations of the election denial network have uncovered documents ([link removed]) related to several of those who were indicted.
* Among Arizona’s 11 fake electors ([link removed]) are former Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward, state Sens. Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern, and Tyler Bowyer, the chief operating officer of Turning Point Action ([link removed]) , a far-right group that has pushed ([link removed]) false claims of election fraud.

* The names of the seven others who were charged were redacted from the indictment, but public reporting ([link removed]) has found ([link removed]) that in addition to those named above, they also include Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn and former Trump campaign aide Michael Roman.


Several of the same people were also indicted in Georgia’s election interference case. A guide to public records obtained by American Oversight that shed light on the election denial activities of the Georgia defendants and the unindicted co-conspirators in the Justice Department’s election case is available here ([link removed]) .
* Records ([link removed]) we’ve obtained help illustrate how Bobb ([link removed]) , a former Trump attorney and conservative television presenter, played a major role in the fake-electors scheme ([link removed]) and supported ([link removed]) partisan election investigations in Arizona ([link removed]) and Wisconsin
([link removed]) .
* Bobb frequently communicated ([link removed]) with Arizona “audit” leaders, and in August 2021 asked to share Arizona Senate President Karen Fann’s contact information with attorney Michael Gableman, who at the time was conducting the Wisconsin Assembly’s bogus election investigation.
* In addition to information about Giuliani’s early influence in the effort to dig up supposed evidence of fraud in Arizona, our investigation also uncovered documents showing that Fann appeared to have spoken with Eastman in December 2020 about his theory that the Constitution allowed state lawmakers to interfere with the selection of presidential electors.
* We’ve also uncovered documents ([link removed]) related to Roman’s involvement in the “audit,” and Meadows’ visits to Georgia during the 2020 recount.


Meanwhile, there were also new developments ([link removed]) in the Michigan attorney general’s fake electors investigation, where 16 had been indicted ([link removed]) in July. During testimony on Wednesday, an investigator said Trump was an unindicted co-conspirator ([link removed]) in the case. (He is in Arizona, too ([link removed]) .)
* Giuliani, Meadows, and Ellis ([link removed]) are also unindicted co-conspirators in the Michigan case; back in October, Ellis pleaded guilty ([link removed]) in the Georgia case to one count of aiding and abetting false statements.


Supreme Court Hears Trump Immunity Claim
On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard arguments ([link removed]) over Trump’s claim that he has sweeping presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. The claims — rejected in February by a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court ([link removed]) — were not only alarming for their authoritarian implications, but also a bid to delay trial in the federal election interference case against him.
* That trial was originally scheduled to begin in March, but was postponed ([link removed]) indefinitely in February to allow for the immunity question to be resolved. The Supreme Court appears likely to reject Trump’s sweeping claims, but with conservative justices raising concerns that will probably delay the trial until after the election.
* Justice Clarence Thomas — who is married to conservative activist and election denier Ginni Thomas ([link removed]) — did not recuse himself from the case ([link removed]) . We previously obtained an email Ginni Thomas sent ([link removed]) to top Trump DHS appointee Ken Cuccinelli regarding conspiracy theories ahead of the 2020 election.


On the Records

Investigating State Support for Anti-Abortion Centers
American Oversight is using public records requests to investigate political and taxpayer support for anti-abortion centers ([link removed].) (sometimes called “crisis pregnancy centers”), which seek to dissuade pregnant people from having abortions. The centers have received increased support from state governments since the fall of Roe v. Wade.
* The centers often operate as volunteer-staffed nonprofit or religious organizations that integrate their anti-abortion rights agenda into the services they offer, which generally include only pregnancy tests and counseling.
* Abortion-rights advocates have claimed that the facilities spread misinformation ([link removed]) about pregnancy and abortion, and have raised concerns ([link removed]) that the limited care offered by anti-abortion centers may increasingly be the only option accessible to some pregnant people.
* Many anti-abortion centers are also affiliated with or funded by right-wing groups that support anti-abortion rights legislation, and health departments in some Republican-led states have contracted with anti-abortion center networks to administer “alternatives to abortion” programs.
* American Oversight has filed several public records requests ([link removed].) seeking information that could shed light on how states are propping up these centers. Read more about our ongoing investigation into threats to abortion access here ([link removed]) .


Other Stories We're Following

Election Denial and Threats to Democracy
* A crush of lawsuits over voting in multiple states is creating a shadow war for the 2024 election (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Republicans scrutinize voting rolls and ramp up for mass challenges ahead of election (Michigan Advance ([link removed]) )
* Brazos elections officials shoulder new costs and burdens to appease skeptics (Votebeat ([link removed]) )
* A sheriff, a felon and a conspiracy theorist walk into a hotel. They're there for the same conference. (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* In one Texas county, elections officials shoulder new costs and burdens to appease skeptics (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )


Voting Rights
* Inside the private company Maricopa County depends on to power through the last-minute ballot slog (Votebeat ([link removed]) )
* Arkansas panel bans electronic signatures on voter registration forms (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Voter laws in Wyoming are creating a rift between state's governor, secretary of state (USA Today ([link removed]) )
* Pennsylvania’s redesigned mail ballot envelopes trip up many voters who left date incomplete (Votebeat ([link removed]) )
* Cash-strapped election offices have fewer resources after bans on private grants (Wisconsin Examiner ([link removed]) )
* Judge: Tennessee's voter registration process for felons violates federal law (Tennessean ([link removed]) )
* US court asked to reconsider ruling upholding DeSantis’ quashing of Black congressional seat (Florida Phoenix ([link removed]) )


LGBTQ Rights
* Texas politics leave transgender foster youth isolated — during and after life in state care (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* Gov. Greg Abbott suggests he wants to bar transgender teachers from dressing in line with their gender identity (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* New federal rule bars transgender school bathroom bans, but it likely isn’t the final word (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* The ‘radical feminist’ group helping push Ohio’s trans bathroom ban (Ohio Capital Journal ([link removed]) )


Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* Arizona House votes to repeal Civil War-era abortion ban (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Watchdog group asks 5 attorneys general to investigate crisis pregnancy center privacy practices (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* California plans to allow Arizona doctors to provide abortions across state lines (Axios ([link removed]) )
* Idaho doctor who worked at closed maternity ward says abortion ban harmed recruiting (Utah News Dispatch ([link removed]) )
* Tennessee would criminalize helping minors get abortions under bill heading to governor (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* New reporting requirements for life-saving abortions worry some doctors (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )


Threats to Education
* Iowa sets aside almost $180 million for year two of voucher program (Iowa Starting Line ([link removed]) )
* UT Austin DEI layoffs disproportionately affected women and Black staffers, records show (Houston Chronicle ([link removed]) )


Civil Rights
* Senators demand accounting of rapid closure plan for California prison where women were abused (Associated Press ([link removed]) )


Government Transparency and Public Records Laws
* ‘Vexatious’ no more, Colorado public records bill loses controversial section (Colorado Public Radio ([link removed]) )
* Arkansas group pushes for constitutional right to transparency (Axios ([link removed]) )
* Texas school districts violated a law intended to add transparency to local elections (Texas Tribune/ProPublica ([link removed]) )


Immigration
* Migration’s human toll overwhelms a border county in Texas (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Migrant apprehensions are down at the Texas border. Have state policies had an impact? (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* Senate committee adds anti-immigration sanctions targeting Kansas City to Missouri budget (Missouri Independent ([link removed]) )
* Alabama House committee approves immigration detention bill (Alabama Reflector ([link removed]) )


Trump Accountability
* Trump campaign recognized legal risks of false electors, still went forward (Detroit News ([link removed]) )
* Two big court dates for Donald Trump, but he can attend only one (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Trump brothers Eric and Don Jr. emerge as loyalty czars (Axios ([link removed]) )
* By looking to future, Supreme Court may push Trump’s DC trial past election (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* 'Wreak havoc': New GOP head urged staffer to inundate Black group with Trump calls in 2020 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* Trump moves to dismiss two counts in Fulton election indictment (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )

Donate to American Oversight ([link removed])
Thank you again for following our latest news. We are grateful for your support and for helping us hold government accountable.

============================================================
** Share ([link removed])
** Share ([link removed])
** Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Famericanoversight%2Fnews-roundupmiracle-drugs-and-trumps-alternate-reality-19504399)
** Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Famericanoversight%2Fnews-roundupmiracle-drugs-and-trumps-alternate-reality-19504399)
American Oversight
1030 15th Street NW
Suite B255
Washington, DC xxxxxx
USA
** unsubscribe ([link removed])