Former President Donald Trump's latest indictment has raised questions about whether more criminal charges could be coming his way.
As of Thursday, Trump has been indicted on state charges in a hush money case in Manhattan and in an election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, as well as on federal charges in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and a separate election interference case.
Monday's indictment in Georgia had been largely anticipated to be the final blow to Trump, but the language in the charging document suggests that the former president may be in hot water in Arizona—a state where President Joe Biden's margin of victory against Trump was even tighter than in the Peach State. Biden carried Arizona by some 10,457 votes and Georgia by 11,779 votes.
A spokesperson for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told Newsweek on Thursday that her office is currently investigating the fake electors scheme in the state, but stopped short of naming Trump as a subject of that investigation.
"I can confirm an ongoing investigation into the fake elector situation in Arizona. I am unable to comment beyond that at this time," Mayes' communications director, Richie Taylor said.
The news of an open investigation in Arizona comes after the state was mentioned five times in Monday's indictment from Georgia, which accused the former president and his associates of pressuring then-Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers to overturn Trump's 2020 loss in the state.
The indictment alleges that Trump called Bowers around Christmas of 2020 "for the purpose of soliciting, requesting, and importuning Bowers to unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Arizona." In response, Bowers told the former president, "I voted for you. I worked for you. I campaigned for you. I just won't do anything illegal for you."
Trump lawyer John Eastman also allegedly called Bowers days later on January 4, 2021, asking him to unlawfully appoint electors from Arizona, according to the indictment. Bowers declined, saying it would violate his oath of office.
On Wednesday, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat who called for an investigation into Trump's efforts in Arizona during his campaign for statewide office last year, said he would lend Mayes whatever help she would need to complete her investigation.
"As far as the indictment is concerned, or future potential charges in Arizona, that's the attorney general's job at this stage of the game," Fontes told CNN. "We will support Kris Mayes and her efforts and her team with any information, any background, any technical expertise that the secretary's office may need to lend in the future."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
