Trump aides Mark Meadows, Mike Roman enter not guilty pleas in fake electors case Friday

Two top aides to Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Friday morning to charges stemming from a plan to keep him in the White House by falsely certifying he won the state in 2020.

Mark Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff, and Michael "Mike" Roman, a member of Trump's campaign team, were arraigned in a Maricopa County court.

They appeared in court virtually for their hearings, which lasted under five minutes each. At one point, Roman appeared to be drinking out of a mug with his face on it.

The two entered not guilty pleas to nine felony counts, including conspiracy, forgery and fraud.

Meadows and Roman were allowed to remain out of custody and travel, an assessment that was not opposed by Nick Klingerman, the criminal division chief in the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

Following the hearing, Roman's lawyer Kurt Altman told reporters it's unclear why the allegations were brought against his client, who he said had no connections to Arizona.

“We’re going to fight the charges against him,” Altman said. “We think they’re excessive; we think they’re unwarranted. Mr. Roman’s had no contact with Arizona, at all. So we don’t understand why he’s involved in this. We don’t understand why the charges were brought in the first place.”

Roman was charged in a similar case in Georgia alongside Meadows. On Tuesday, Roman was also charged in Wisconsin.

Asked if charges being filed in multiple states might lead to plea deals, Altman said that could be a strategic move.

“Sometimes it’s a war of attrition, and it looks like there might be a concerted effort to get people to give up,” Altman said. “Mr. Roman does not plan to give up.”

Meadows and Roman are among the 18 people an Arizona grand jury indicted in April. The 58-page indictment alleges that 11 Arizona Republicans and seven top Trump aides came up with a plan to pretend Trump won the state. In reality, Arizona voters narrowly selected Joe Biden.

All the defendants face the same nine felony charges. 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.

The arraignments for Meadows and Roman took place the day after Trump visited Dream City Church in north Phoenix for a town hall event hosted by Turning Point Action, an Arizona-based group that has promoted his false election claims.

Most defendants in the fake electors case have entered pleas of not guilty. Three more defendants — Arizona Republican James "Jim" Lamon and Trump aides Jenna Ellis and Boris Epshteyn — were scheduled to be arraigned on June 18.

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

Who is Mark Meadows?

Meadows, according to the indictment, was involved in "the many efforts" to keep Trump in power as his chief of staff in 2020.

He is accused of working with campaign staffers to "coordinate and implement" fake Republican electors' votes in Arizona and six other states, according to the indictment.

Meadows was also held in contempt for not complying with a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, when the U.S. Capitol was breached.

Who is Mike Roman?

Roman was the "director of election day operations" for Trump's campaign, according to the indictment.

He is accused in the indictment of working closely with Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, Epshteyn and Rudy Giuliani to arrange the fake electors' votes in Arizona and other states. Giuliani and Epshteyn are co-defendants in the Arizona case, and Chesebro, who was also charged in Wisconsin, is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Roman is one of a handful of defendants raising funds to help pay for their legal defense in Arizona and other states. The funds are being raised on GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding site that also collects prayers for the beneficiaries. Roman joined the site to raise $300,000 and, as of June 6, reached almost $70,000 toward that goal.

He is represented by the Dhillion Law Group, the same firm defending Arizona state Sen. Jake Hoffman in the fake elector case.

Elena Santa Cruz is a justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her at elena.santacruz@gannett.com. Follow her on X @ecsantacruz3.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fake electors: Mark Meadows, Mike Roman enter not guilty pleas