While numerous people were charged in the Arizona fake elector effort to keep President Donald Trump in power back in 2020 — the former president, referred to as "Unindicted Co-Conspirator 1," so far gets to skate free.
Trump might not be indicted in the case yet, but it is another state indictment. And that means even if the 45th president wins the election come Nov. 5 and is able to serve out another term, he would be unable to pardon his cohorts like attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows among others should they get convicted.
Former federal prosecutor and university law professor Ryan Goodman appeared on CNN's "Out Front" to discuss the Arizona indictment that appeared to spare Trump another criminal case.
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He said, "This is state prosecution of state crimes" and so "if Donald Trump is elected president, he can't do anything about it."
The reason the president is powerless to wash the slate for these accused is because they're not federal crimes.
Moreover, Goodman said Trump also "cannot quash the investigation because that's only about the Justice Department, not about state law enforcement authorities."
If the case moves ahead with a formal trial and ends in conviction, Trump will effectively be "just left out there as unindicted co-conspirator."
So what happens to all of Trump's indicted co-conspirators?
Goodman said, "these folks might be left holding the bag."
A month after Trump lost the 2020 election, 11 Trump faithfuls gathered at the Arizona GOP’s Phoenix headquarters to sign a certificate claiming to be Arizona’s true electors to the Electoral College before sending it off to Congress and the National Archives.
The move contradicted the fact that then-President Elect Joe Biden had been found to have won by 10,457 votes and state officials certified his electors.
Among some of the others named in the indictment were former Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward, who tweeted on Jan. 6, 2021, following the siege on the U.S. Capitol by hordes of Trump supporters: “Congress is adjourned. Send the elector choice back to the legislatures.”
