Former Trump campaign official subpoenaed in Arizona probe of efforts to overturn 2020 election
By Zachary Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — A former Trump 2020 campaign official has been subpoenaed by officials in Arizona as part of the criminal investigation focused on efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s win, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The official, Mike Roman, is also one of Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election subversion case. He’s being subpoenaed by prosecutors as part of a separate state-level probe overseen by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat.
Sources told CNN that Mayes is nearing a decision on whether to bring criminal charges.
CNN previously reported that prosecutors in Arizona have issued several grand jury subpoenas in recent weeks to people connected to efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election results there. The subpoenas suggest the probe is accelerating ahead of the 2024 presidential election, when Trump is expected to again face Biden as the Republican nominee.
Mayes has primarily focused her investigation on the 11 fake pro-Trump electors from Arizona and organizers of the effort, but sources familiar with the probe said she’s also looking into individuals tied to the former president’s national campaign.
“It’s robust. It’s a serious matter,” Mayes told CNN last year when asked about her investigation. “We’re going to make sure that we do it on our timetable, applying the resources that it requires to make sure that justice is done, for not only Arizonans, but for the entire country.”
A spokesperson for the Arizona attorney general’s office declined to comment Tuesday. ABC News was first to report that Roman was among those subpoenaed in the investigation.
An attorney for Roman declined to comment.
Prosecutors in Michigan, Georgia and Nevada have already brought criminal charges against some of the people who signed on as fake pro-Trump electors. CNN previously reported that investigators in Wisconsin also are conducting a similar probe.
Among those who have been interviewed by Arizona prosecutors in recent months is pro-Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro.
CNN has identified Chesebro as one of Trump’s unindicted co-conspirators in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal indictment of the former president, which details how Chesebro was a driving force behind the fake electors plot.
Chesebro has pleaded guilty in the sprawling racketeering case in Georgia and has met with prosecutors from several other states who are investigating the fake electors plan.
Communications previously obtained by CNN and handed over to prosecutors in multiple states investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election show Chesebro worked closely with Roman on the fake electors plot in the lead-up to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
