Trump Indictment Hints at Giuliani, Eastman as Co-Conspirators

The 45-page indictment against Donald Trump announced on Tuesday refers to six unindicted “co-conspirators” that prosecutors allege assisted the former president in “criminal efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and retain power.”

The individuals aren’t named. But the indictment gives enough detail about their actions — often quoting them directly — to identify five of the six based on publicly available information, particularly the final report of the congressional committee that investigated the 2020 election. A person familiar with the investigation also confirmed those identities.

Although there are limits on how prosecutors can use a grand jury after securing an indictment, they can use it to add defendants to a case. In announcing the latest Trump indictment Tuesday, Special Counsel John “Jack” Smith said “our investigation of other individuals continues.”

Read More: Trump Indicted on Federal Charges in 2020 Election Probe

Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani

Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg

The indictment’s description of co-conspirator 1 matches former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, labeling him as “an attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 reelection campaign attorneys would not.”

Co-conspirator 1 is mentioned at least 46 times in the indictment, saying Giuliani “spearheaded” Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. The indictment recounts how he tried to get Republican officials in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin to reject the popular vote in their states, often by spreading false conspiracy theories about irregularities.

The indictment quotes co-conspirator 1 telling the Arizona House Speaker in December 2020 words to the effect of, “We don’t have the evidence, but we have lots of theories.” That tracks a description in the Jan. 6 committee report of a conversation between Giuliani and then-Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers.

Giuliani is facing disbarment proceedings in Washington and New York for promoting postelection conspiracy theories. He recently conceded claims in a defamation case brought by two Georgia election workers he accused of election fraud — claims that the indictment references.

Giuliani hasn’t received a letter from prosecutors notifying him that he’s a target of the investigation, according to his spokesperson and political adviser Ted Goodman. Goodman said in a statement that the “indictment eviscerates the First Amendment and criminalizes the ruling regime’s number one political opponent for daring to ask questions about the 2020 election results.”

John Eastman

John Eastman

Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg

The indictment’s description of co-conspirator 2 matches Trump lawyer John Eastman, describing him as “an attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election.”

Co-conspirator 2 is mentioned at least 31 times in the indictment. The former Chapman University law school dean was the author of a six-step legal memo about how former Vice President Mike Pence could prevent Joe Biden from being inaugurated. The indictment describes the memo, including a quote from one section describing a proposed series of events: “Pence then gavels President Trump as reelected.”

In a civil legal fight over the Jan. 6 congressional committee’s demands for Eastman’s emails, a federal judge in California held last year that Eastman and Trump “more likely than not” committed crimes. The congressional committee recommended the Justice Department consider bringing charges against both Eastman and Trump. Eastman is facing a legal ethics complaint by state bar regulators in California.

Eastman’s lawyer Harvey Silverglate confirmed the description matched his client, although he said the Justice Department hadn’t contacted them. He said Eastman hasn’t received a target letter and that his legal team is preparing a memo for Smith arguing why he shouldn’t face charges for performing his duties as a lawyer, even if it involved proposing theories that were “far-fetched.”

Sidney Powell

The indictment’s description of co-conspirator 3 matches conservative advocate Sidney Powell, describing her as “an attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud the Defendant privately acknowledged to others sounded ‘crazy.’”

Sidney Powell

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

“Nonetheless,” the indictment continues, Trump “embraced and publicly amplified co-conspirator 3’s disinformation.”

Powell is mentioned at least eight times in the indictment. On Nov. 16, 2020, the indictment alleges Trump had an assistant send Powell a document containing bullet points making claims about voting-machine maker Dominion Voting Systems Inc. Powell responded: “IT MUST GO IN ALL SUITS IN GA AND PA IMMEDIATELY WITH A FRAUD CLAIM THAT REQUIRES THE ENTIRE ELECTION TO BE SET ASIDE.”

Powell filed a suit against Georgia based on those claims, which was dismissed two weeks later; the indictment refers to dates in public court records. Trump promoted the claims, even though he told told advisers that Powell sounded “crazy,” an exchange the Jan. 6 congressional committee noted in its report.

Powell is facing legal ethics cases by state bar regulators in Texas and Michigan related to her postelection efforts. She and her attorney didn’t return requests for comment.

Jeff Clark

The indictment’s description of co-conspirator 4 matches former Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark, describing him as “a Justice Department official who worked on civil matters” and attempted with Trump to “use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud.”

Clark is referred to 29 times in the indictment, which says he met with Trump at the White House without knowledge of his superiors — and even lying to then-Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen about his involvement. When Rosen told Trump the Justice Department could not change the outcome of the election, Trump threatened to replace Rosen with Clark.

Jeff Clark

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Trump backed down when top department officials threatened to resign. “People tell me Jeff Clark is great. I should put him in,” Trump said, according to the indictment, a quote included in the Jan. 6 committee report.

Clark is facing a legal ethics case by local bar regulators in Washington over his postelection activities. His lawyer didn’t return a request for comment.

Kenneth Chesebro

The indictment’s description of co-conspirator 5 matches appellate attorney Kenneth Chesebro, describing him as “an attorney who assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.”

He’s mentioned at least 15 times in the indictment, including as the author of memos outlining how the fraudulent election slates would work.

The indictment quotes an email from Jack Wilenchik, an Arizona lawyer working on the project, who said the strategy was legally dubious but could throw just enough uncertainty into the process to buy time. The Jan. 6 congressional committee report refers to the email as well, which names Chesebro. “I just talked to the gentleman who did that memo,” Wilenchik wrote, referring to Chesebro. “Kind of wild/creative.”

Chesebro and his attorney didn’t return a request for comment.

Co-Conspirator 6

The indictment refers to co-conspirator 6 as “a political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.” The person is named at least eight times in the indictment.

Bloomberg News could not confirm his or her identity. The indictment says the person recommended attorneys in battleground states to Giuliani and helped him to call senators to urge them to vote against certifying Biden.

--With assistance from Sabrina Willmer.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Gregory Korte in Washington at gkorte@bloomberg.net;
Zoe Tillman in Washington at ztillman2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mario Parker at mparker22@bloomberg.net

Elizabeth Wasserman, Sara Forden

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