Judge Sets Trial Date for Arizona Election Case

Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and 14 others are scheduled to go on trial on Jan. 5, charged with conspiring to overturn the official results of Arizona's 2020 presidential election that Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. Arizona Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen set the date Monday, CNN reports, though he conceded that the start date is a "moving target." Cohen was holding a hearing Monday in which Giuliani, once Trump's personal lawyer, and other defendants were trying to have the charges against them thrown out. His lawyer argued that Giuliani, who's accused of spreading false claims of election fraud, did nothing criminal and was only exercising his free speech rights, per CBS News.

The defendants say state Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, campaigned on investigating the case and opposes Trump. That violates an Arizona law prohibiting the use of baseless legal actions to mute critics, they argue, per the Hill. John Eastman, a lawyer who worked on Trump's efforts to overturn the election, and state Republicans who were fake electors were in the courtroom for the hearing. Meadows, a former Trump chief of staff, and Giuliani joined virtually. The defendants do not include Trump, who is listed as "unindicted co-conspirator 1" in charging documents. (Another Trump lawyer, Jenna Ellis, cut a deal with prosecutors.)