Arizona attorney general asks for Jack Smith's full case file

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) has requested access to special counsel Jack Smith's case file for his 2020 election subversion prosecution of President-elect Trump, citing her case against several of his allies.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland made public Monday, Mayes indicated that she previously requested access to Smith's materials but was denied given the prosecution was ongoing. Now that the case has been dropped, and the Justice Department is fighting to release Smith's final report, Mayes renewed her request.

"Today, my office has one of the only remaining cases that includes charges against national actors," Mayes wrote. "I have held steadfast to prosecuting the grand jury’s indictment because those who tried to subvert democracy in 2020 must be held accountable.

"Undoubtedly, disclosing Special Counsel’s file to my office will help ensure that those who
should be held accountable are," she added.

Mark Meadows, Trump’s White House chief of staff, and longtime ally Rudy Giuliani are among the 16 total defendants with remaining charges in the Arizona election subversion case. Also charged are the Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Trump the winner of Arizona’s 2020 presidential election. The case is set to go to trial in January 2026.

Trump himself is not a defendant in the case but is described as “unindicted co-conspirator 1” in charging documents. The state's statute of limitations on most felony offenses — seven years — means it's possible the former president could face charges there in the final year of his term and leave office with few mechanisms to stop them.

Mayes's request comes as Garland is waging a legal battle to release the portion of Smith's two-volume final report regarding the special counsel's findings on Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election results. Garland said he would withhold the classified documents report while two of Trump’s co-defendants still face charges.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the release of the entire report at the request of those defendants, valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos De Oliveira, but a federal appeals court rejected their bid.

However, the appeals court did not address a three-day waiting period in Cannon's ruling, which the defendants took to mean additional legal proceedings could be undertaken on the matter. Such a move would likely tie the matter up in court with little time to spare before Trump’s inauguration.

Mayes noted in her letter that nothing in Cannon's order prohibited disclosure of the underlying investigative file in the 2020 election case.

"Moreover, (federal law) gives you the authority to disclose grand jury information for use in Arizona’s criminal case," Mayes wrote. "At a minimum then, the Department of Justice can disclose its material in the Election Case, but as with your statement in recent pleadings, it is in the public interest to disclose Special Counsel’s report as well."

Mayes indicated that Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff, also requested access to Smith's findings and any evidence that could support his case — a request her office did not oppose.

The Arizona attorney general said that if she has not heard from the Justice Department by the end of business hours Tuesday, she will consider her request denied.

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