In a revealing new court filing, it has come to light that members of the Arizona grand jury, who earlier this year indicted 18 associates of former President Donald Trump for their alleged involvement in attempting to overturn the 2020 election, sought to charge the former president himself. Their push was so significant that state prosecutors were compelled to intervene with a PowerPoint presentation to dissuade them.
The court documents shed light on the confidential grand jury deliberations, including the rationale behind labeling Trump as “Unindicted Co-Conspirator 1” in the charges against his associates.
The filings reveal that prosecutors cited two main reasons for not pursuing an indictment against Trump: A U.S. Justice Department policy that complicates federal charges against individuals when similar state-level charges are already in place. The prosecutors also informed the grand jury that pursuing an indictment against Trump would be a “big deal” and that they might not have “all the evidence to prosecute it at this moment,” suggesting it could take up to two years to build a case.
The grand jury’s discussions and the prosecutor’s advice were part of the state’s response to motions from several defendants alleging selective prosecution and anti-SLAPP violations.
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Although Trump has not been charged in Arizona, the investigation is ongoing. Prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility of future charges against him if new evidence warrants it.
Meanwhile, Georgia remains the only state where Trump has been charged alongside his allies in a case that is currently on hold pending an appeals court decision regarding the disqualification of DA Fani Willis.
