By Zachary Cohen, Shania Shelton and Kyung LahFormer Donald Trump lawyer John Eastman — also a former professor and dean at the Chapman University law school — pleaded not guilty in Phoenix on Friday on charges related to allegedly participating in a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona. A grand jury in Arizona handed up indictments last month charging Eastman and over a dozen more Trump allies for their efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, including the fake electors from that state and several individuals connected to his campaign. While Trump is not among those charged in Arizona, the details in the indictment suggest he is “Unindicted Coconspirator 1.”“I, of course, plead not guilty,” Eastman said following the brief hearing. Eastman is the first defendant charged in the Arizona case to appear in court and the others are scheduled to follow suit in the coming weeks. Eastman’s indictment stems from being among those pushing fringe legal theories for overturning the 2020 election results and intimately involved in the fake electors scheme.

Source: CNN May 17, 2024 19:06 UTC