Former President Donald Trump found himself in the spotlight once again as a grand jury in Arizona indicted 18 of his allies on criminal charges related to their attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. The grand jury had reportedly shown interest in indicting Trump as well, but the state attorney general's office intervened and asked them not to do so, as revealed in a recent court filing.
Attorney General Kristin Mayes' office disclosed the grand jury's interest in charging Trump in a filing that aimed to dispute claims of political bias in the prosecution of the defendants involved in the so-called fake electors case. Trump, referred to as Unindicted Co-Conspirator 1, was indirectly mentioned in the indictment against his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and others.
The court filing emphasized the importance of facts over declarations and highlighted that the attorney general's office had asked the grand jury to consider not indicting Trump, as well as other individuals associated with the defendants. The decision not to indict Trump was reportedly based on a U.S. Justice Department policy against having federal and state prosecutors separately charge the same people for the same actions.
Despite the grand jury's interest in pursuing charges against Trump, the prosecutor advised against it, citing the significance of indicting someone, especially a former president. While Trump himself has not been charged in this case, the legal proceedings continue to unfold, with one of the defendants pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge.