Allies of former President Donald Trump will go to trial in early 2026 in Arizona, a judge said Monday, according to multiple outlets, as key Trump backers including ex-attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows face criminal charges for trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Rudy Giuliani attends the second day of the Republican National Convention on July 16 in Milwaukee, ... [+]
Arizona state Judge Bruce Cohen said at a hearing that the case will go to trial on Jan. 5, 2026, according to CNN and local NBC affiliate KPNX.
Eighteen Trump allies were charged in April in connection with their post-election activities, as GOP officials submitted a false slate of electors to Congress claiming Trump won the state, and campaign officials including Giuliani and other Trump attorneys were allegedly involved with the scheme.
Most of the defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges, but ex-Trump attorney Jenna Ellis and false Trump elector Loraine Pellegrino reached plea deals with prosecutors and had their charges dropped.
Giuliani, Meadows, ex-Trump attorney John Eastman, Trump attorney Christina Bobb, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn and other allies were indicted on charges including fraud, forgery, changing votes “by corrupt means or inducement,” tampering with public records and presenting false instruments for filing.
Cohen said at the Monday hearing that the trial date is a “moving target” and could be changed in the future, CNN reports, noting the state asked for a trial date in May or June 2025.
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The Trump allies have asked for the charges against them to be dropped—decrying the charges as being motivated by partisan bias—and it’s unclear when Cohen could rule on that motion.
Arizona prosecutors revealed in a court filing earlier in August that they urged a grand jury not to bring charges against Trump himself, claiming they didn’t have enough evidence against the ex-president “at the moment” to mount a strong case against him. That being said, the Arizona attorney general’s office confirmed to Forbes the investigation was still ongoing, and CNN reported prosecutors haven’t “closed the door” on indicting Trump, should evidence warrant it.
Meadows, who served as Trump’s chief of staff in the period after the 2020 election, is trying to move his Arizona charges to federal court, claiming his actions were within the scope of his duties as chief of staff. A hearing will be held next month to consider the issue, CNN notes, though courts have already rejected a similar effort to move Meadows’ criminal charges in Georgia to federal court.
Arizona is one of seven states where “fake electors” submitted false documents to Congress claiming Trump had won. The scheme was part of a broader effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election—which was entirely unsuccessful—and the Trump campaign was directly involved with coordinating the effort. In addition to Arizona, prosecutors in Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada have also indicted electors involved with the scheme. Giuliani, Eastman and Meadows were also criminally charged in Georgia for their post-election activities, and the ex-Trump attorneys are part of a broader cohort of pro-Trump lawyers who are now facing consequences after helping Trump try to overturn the election. Giuliani and Eastman have remained defiant as both of them have faced criminal charges and disbarment, with Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman decrying the Arizona charges as an effort to “eviscerate” the justice system and saying Giuliani is “proud to stand up for the countless Americans who raised legitimate concerns surrounding the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.”