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Trump attorney is 1st arraigned in Arizona 'fake electors' case

An attorney to former President Donald Trump accused of participating in a fake elector scheme to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election appeared in a Maricopa County courtroom today. 

Attorney John Eastman  is accused of working with Arizona’s 11 so-called fake electors to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election by submitting documentation falsely claiming Trump, not President Joe Biden, won the state’s popular vote in 2020.

Eastman pleaded not guilty and says charges never should have been brought against him.

“I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona, zero involvement in any of the election litigation in Arizona or legislative hearings,” Eastman said to reporters outside the courthouse, “And I’m confident that if the law is faithfully applied, I will be fully exonerated at the end of this process.”

Eastman was released from custody without conditions after the hearing. Prosecutors with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office did not seek any additional conditions for his release, saying Eastman has complied with subpoena requirements.

Twelve of the remaining defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearances in court on May 21 while others received extensions to appear at later dates. The Washington Post reported that  Arizona prosecutors have yet been able to locate one defendant, Trump attorney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to serve him with notice to appear in court.

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Wayne Schutsky is a broadcast field correspondent covering Arizona politics on KJZZ. He has over a decade of experience as a journalist reporting on local communities in Arizona and the state Capitol.