Defendants ask judge to dismiss Arizona 'fake elector' case with trial set to begin in 2026
PHOENIX — After three days of arguments and with a trial scheduled for Jan.
PHOENIX — After three days of arguments and with a trial scheduled for Jan. 5, 2026, the decision about whether Arizona's "fake electors" case will move forward is in Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen’s hands.
Defendants argued over Monday and Tuesday that the indictment against 11 people who signed documents claiming to be Arizona's Electoral College electors in 2020 — even though Joe Biden won the state and Arizona certified his victory — and other Donald Trump allies should be dismissed on the grounds that they were exercising their First Amendment rights.
Mark Williams, the attorney for former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, told Cohen on Tuesday that the indictment was brought to "deprive my client of his right of freedom of speech, freedom to associate, freedom to petition the government for political redress."
"These things are not illegal," Williams added.
On Wednesday, the state defended its case, arguing the charges of engaging in fraud, forgeries and conspiracy were not related to the defendants’ political speech or associations.
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