Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, has dismissed a criminal case targeting former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, among others.
On Thursday, Mayes announced the dismissal of charges against 18 defendants in the state’s “fake electors” case, including Giuliani.
America’s mayor celebrated the dropping of the “unjustified and unconstitutional” charges by taking to social media:
The prosecutor in Arizona has finally dropped the unjustified and unconstitutional charges against me and all my innocent co-defendants.
All the claims about falsifying data, electors et al was a part of the Democrat massive corruption of our previously world renowned justice…
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) June 18, 2026
The AG had originally accused the defendants of taking part in a conspiracy to submit false certificates claiming current President Donald Trump won Arizona’s 11 electoral votes in 2020, despite Joe Biden having won them.
The 18 defendants included 11 Arizona Republicans who’d signed fake elector certifications, in addition to Trump’s associates and lawyers, e.g., Giuliani.
All 18 defendants faced nine felony counts, including conspiracy, fraudulent schemes, and forgery related to the false certificates sent to Congress, the National Archives, and others.
Giuliani was famously served his indictment during his 80th birthday party on May 17, 2024:
BREAKING: Late last night at his 80th birthday bash in Palm Beach, @RudyGiuliani was served with notice of his Arizona indictment in the case alleging he was involved in a plot to overturn the 2020 election.
Some of the nearly 75 guests started screaming and one woman even… pic.twitter.com/wqthuFOv0A
— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) May 18, 2024
However, there’s a big catch to Mayes dropping the charges — she intends to refile them differently.
According to the Associated Press, a judge recently ordered the case returned to a grand jury due to a procedural due-process issue: Mayes had failed to properly inform the original grand jury about key provisions of federal law, like the Electoral Count Act that governs elector certification.
The judge made this decision after defense attorneys successfully argued “that the original grand jury hadn’t been shown the relevant parts of a law that governs how presidential contests are certified,” according to the AP.
Mayes tried to appeal but lost earlier this month.
“[T]he Arizona Supreme Court rejected Attorney General Kris Mayes’ request to avoid sending the case back to the grand jury. Mayes had hoped to continue pushing forward through the courts without having to start over at the grand jury level,” the AP reported on June 4.
The problem was that Mayes had only until this Friday to pursue new grand jury proceedings. That gave her too little time to prepare, given that cases such as this involve substantial evidence, so she decided to just drop the case WITHOUT PREJUDICE, meaning she may refile it at any time.
In the filing submitted Thursday to close the case, she called to “dismiss the indictment without prejudice, so the State can re-present this case to the grand jury on a reasonable timeline.”
NEW: Attorney General Kris Mayes moves to dismiss electors prosecution without prejudice. The state plans to pursue another indictment but noted it cannot meet the 15-day deadline to start re-presenting its case to the state grand jury. pic.twitter.com/WEmJ246J8J
— Kiera Riley (@kiera_riley) June 18, 2026
What remains unclear is IF she’ll refile. Some on the right have already confidently declared total victory and vindication.
Others have warned that whether or not Mayes files will likely be dependent on whether she wins reelection in November:
Understand that if Kris Mayes and Katie Hobbs are re-elected, charges will be put before a grand jury again. Be prepared.
— Sue (@SimplySusie3) June 19, 2026
Katie Hobbs is the Democratic governor of Arizona.
Other critics have called for a malicious prosecution investigation to be launched against Mayes, among others, so that the defendants can be compensated for the time and money they’ve lost.
Now there should be an investigation into malicious prosecution and communications between her and Hobbs, the DNC, the Obama Crowd, the Chaney crowd, etc.
— Ralph Hood (@ralph88867) June 19, 2026
So, how much money did the state force Rudy to spend to defend himself from manufactured allegations. A disguised government fine for challenging power. What a cesspool our country has become.
— Mike The Knife (@Michael33513367) June 19, 2026
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.