Final defendants in Arizona Trump fake electors case enter not guilty pleas

PHOENIX - The final three defendants charged in connection with a plan to subvert Joe Biden’s win of Arizona in 2020 entered not guilty pleas in court Tuesday, advancing the criminal case tied to Donald Trump's false claims from the last White House race to a stage that could include plea deals.

Nick Klingerman, the state prosecutor handling the case, said after the brief arraignment hearing that plea offers had not yet been made, but the possibility had been discussed with defense lawyers.

“We anticipate, I think like in any other case, that we’ll make plea offers,” said Klingerman, the criminal division chief in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. He declined to comment on whether any defendant was cooperating with investigators.

With the final arraignments complete, the case will move forward with the exchange of evidence and likely a flurry of motions from defense lawyers. With 18 defendants, the case is likely to be complex. Pre-trial court dates set before the November election are likely to move, Klingerman said.

In a Maricopa County court, Donald Trump 2020 campaign aides Jenna Ellis and Boris Epshteyn, as well as fake elector James "Jim" Lamon, were arraigned in connection with the scheme to keep Trump in the White House by falsely certifying he won the state in 2020. A grand jury indicted the defendants, 11 Arizona Republicans — the fake electors — and seven top Trump aides, in April.

Ellis and Lamon appeared via video, and Epshteyn, who works for the Trump 2024 presidential campaign, called in to the hearing. Their arraignments lasted about 17 minutes collectively.

The three were allowed to remain out of custody and travel, conditions the Attorney General's Office did not oppose. The judicial officer also ordered Lamon and Ellis not to contact any witness, victim or co-defendant connected to the case.

Matt Brown, Ellis' lawyer, declined to comment following the hearing.

All face nine felony counts, including conspiracy, forgery and fraud. If convicted, they could be sentenced to time in prison, but state law allows for less severe penalties, including probation, depending on their circumstances, like past criminal history.

All defendants in the case have entered pleas of not guilty.

The arraignment is one of the earliest steps in the criminal justice process. The judicial officer who heard the pleas will not be the trial judge hearing the fake electors case. That assignment will occur later.

Who is Jim Lamon?

A former U.S. Senate candidate, Lamon ran to represent Arizona in 2022 but lost in the GOP primary.

He is a financial supporter of Republican causes and candidates and helped finance security for the Arizona Senate's much-criticized review of ballots cast in the 2020 election.

Lamon founded Scottsdale-based Depcom Power, a solar engineering and construction company that employed 1,600 people across the nation before he sold the business.

In 2022, Lamon claimed in an interview with KTVK-TV in Phoenix that the Republican electors were part of a backup plan in case Trump's election fraud claims proved successful.

"The Republican electors put forth a valid document that said, in the event that the election certification was overturned, there would be no excuse not to recognize those electors," Lamon said.

The documents, however, did not include that conditional language.

Who is Jenna Ellis?

Ellis, according to the indictment, was an attorney for the Trump campaign and is alleged to have worked closely with Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani, Trump's former lawyer, pressured GOP officials in Arizona to advance doubts about election results. He played a key role in the plan to create slates of Trump electors and is also charged in the Arizona fake electors case.

The indictment says Ellis encouraged the Legislature to change the outcome of the election and spread false claims of election fraud in Arizona and six other states. She is also accused of encouraging former Vice President Michael Pence to accept the fake Arizona elector votes during the Jan. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress.

Ellis pleaded guilty in a similar fake electors case in Georgia and agreed to a sentence of five years' probation.

Who is Boris Epshteyn?

Esphteyn, according to the indictment, was an attorney and advisor to the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns. He is alleged to have worked with Giuliani on the plan to submit the Arizona fake elector votes and "obstruct the certification process" during the Jan. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress.

Epshteyn began his career in Republican politics in 2008 as a member of the late Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign staff.

After Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Epshteyn served as director of communications for the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee, which organized Trump's inauguration in 2017, according to Epshteyn's LinkedIn page. He worked in the White House from January 2017 to April 2017 as a special assistant to the president and assistant communications director for surrogate operations.

In 2021, Epshteyn was accused of repeatedly groping a woman and her sister inside a Scottsdale nightclub. He pleaded guilty in Scottsdale City Court to disorderly conduct and served probation. The court set the conviction aside in January 2023.

Elena Santa Cruz is a justice reporter for The Republic, a USA TODAY Network partner. Reach her at elena.santacruz@gannett.com.

Stacey Barchenger is a politics reporter for The Republic, a USA TODAY Network partner. Reach her at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump fake electors: Final defendants in Arizona case plead not guilty