Arizona prosecutors asked grand jurors not to indict Trump in state’s fake electors case

The Arizona grand jury that indicted 18 Republican supporters of Donald Trump who falsely claimed he won the state in the 2020 election wanted to consider also charging the former president, but prosecutors urged them not to, according to court documents filed this week.

The court records filed by Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office contain exchanges between prosecutors and the grand jurors, who heard 18 days of testimony.

As grand jurors were considering possible charges, a prosecutor asked them not to indict Trump, citing a U.S. Justice Department policy that limits the prosecution of someone for the same crime twice and making a PowerPoint presentation on that policy. The prosecutor, who isn’t identified in the records, also didn’t know whether authorities had all the evidence they would need to charge Trump at that time.

“I know that may be disappointing to some of you,” the prosecutor said. “I understand.”

Ultimately, the grand jury indicted 18 people on forgery, fraud and conspiracy charges, including the 11 Republicans who submitted a document falsely claiming Trump had won Arizona, five lawyers connected to the former president and two former Trump aides.

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