The defendant was on notice that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud in Arizona within a week of the election. On November 9, for instance, two days after news networks projected that Biden had won, the defendant called Arizona Governor DOUGDUCEY to ask him what was happening at the state level with the presidential vote count in Arizona. Although Fox News had projected that Biden had won the state, several other news outlets, including ABC, NBC, CNN, and the New York Times, had not yet made a projection. DOUGDUCEY walked the defendant through the margins and the votes remaining to be counted, which were primarily from Pima County, which favored Biden, and Maricopa County, which was split. DOUGDUCEY described the situation to the defendant as “the ninth inning, two outs, and [the defendant] was several runs down.” The defendant also raised claims of election fraud, and DOUGDUCEY asked the defendant to send him supporting evidence. Although the defendant said he would, stating, “We’re packaging it up,” he never did. Shortly thereafter, on November 13, Campaign Manager BILLSTEPIEN told the defendant directly that a false fraud claim—that a substantial number of non-citizens had voted in Arizona—was false. The same day, as noted previously, campaign attorneys conceded in court that the remaining election lawsuit in Arizona was moot.

The defendant and GIULIANI continued to try to influence DOUGDUCEY. For example, GIULIANI tried to contact DOUGDUCEY on November 22-the same day the defendant and GIULIANI reached out to the Arizona Speaker of the House, as described below. And on November 30, the day DOUGDUCEY signed the Arizona certificate of ascertainment formally declaring Biden’s electors as the legitimate electors for Arizona, DOUGDUCEY received a call from the defendant and Pence.” DOUGDUCEY advised them that Arizona had certified the election; when the defendant brought up fraud claims, DOUGDUCEY eager to see the evidence-again asked the defendant to provide it, but the defendant never did. Instead, later that evening and into the following morning, the defendant repeatedly publicly attacked DOUGDUCEY (as well as Georgia Governor BRIANKEMP) on Twitter, re-tweeting posts by others, such as “Who needs Democrats when you have Republicans like BRIANKEMP and DOUGDUCEY. “Watching the Arizona hearings and then watching Gov. DOUGDUCEY sign those papers, why bother voting for Republicans if what you get is DOUGDUCEY and BRIANKEMP. “BRIANKEMP My state ran the most corrupt election in American history. DOUGDUCEY ‘Hold my beer,’”: and “Why is DOUGDUCEY still pretending he’s a member of the Republican Party after he just certified fraudulent election results in Arizona that disenfranchised millions of Republicans?”

The defendant and co-conspirators also attempted to use false fraud claims to convince political allies in the Arizona state legislature to ignore the popular vote and appoint illegitimate electors. On November 22, the defendant and GIULIANI called RUSTYBOWERS the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives. GIULIANI did most of the talking. During the call, the defendant and GIULIANI levied multiple false fraud claims-including of non-citizen, non-resident, and dead voters that affected the defendant’s race-and asked RUSTYBOWERS to use them as a basis to call the state legislature into session to replace Arizona’s legitimate electors with illegitimate ones for the defendant. When RUSTYBOWERS voiced his deep skepticism, GIULIANI said, “well, you know, we’re all kind of Republicans and we need to be working together.” RUSTYBOWERS refused, and asked GIULIANI to provide evidence supporting his fraud claims. GIULIANI never did.

Indeed, GIULIANI met with RUSTYBOWERS in person approximately a week later and still had nothing to back up his claims. On November 30. GIULIANI JENNAELLIS and others arrived in Arizona for a hotel hearing”-an unofficial meeting with Republican legislators-during which they promoted false fraud allegations. In a meeting the day after the hearing, when state legislators pressed GIULIANI and JENNAELLIS for evidence to support their claims, GIULIANI conceded that even on that late date, “[w]e don’t have the evidence, but we have lots of theories. ” When the legislators were frustrated that GIULIANI had no support for his claims and asked him tough questions, GIULIANI expressed surprise at the way he was being treated, stating “Man, I thought we were all Republicans. … [T]his is a little more hostile a reception. I’m amazed at the reception I’m getting here.”

On December 4, RUSTYBOWERS released a public statement in which he explained that he did not have the authority to use the legislature to reverse the results of the election” and that doing so would constitute an attempt “to nullify the people’s vote based on unsupported theories of fraud.” RUSTYBOWERS made clear that he was disappointed with the legitimate election results because he “voted for President Trump and worked hard to reelect him” but would not violate current law to change the outcome of a certified election.” On Twitter, CHRISTINABOBB a Campaign staffer who worked with BORISEPSHTEYN attacked RUSTYBOWERS for his statement, writing that RUSTYBOWERS is intentionally misleading the people of Arizona to avoid the inevitable.” The defendant re-tweeted CHRISTINABOBB false post and praised her.

A month later, just two days before January 6, EASTMAN-another of the defendant’s private attorneys and a co-conspirator called RUSTYBOWERS and RUSTYBOWERS counsel P20 and urged RUSTYBOWERS one last time to use the legislature to decertify Arizona’s legitimate electors and overturn the valid election results. When RUSTYBOWERS told JOHNEASTMAN that there was no evidence of substantial fraud in Arizona, and that he could not legally call the legislature into session, JOHNEASTMAN undeterred. He conceded that he [didn’t] know enough about the facts on the ground’ regarding fraud in Arizona, and said that RUSTYBOWERS should nonetheless falsely claim that he had the authority to convene the legislature and let the courts sort it out.” RUSTYBOWERS again refused.

In the post-election period, RUSTYBOWERS was harassed: on several occasions, individuals gathered outside RUSTYBOWERS home with bullhorns and screamed and honked their vehicle horns to create noise. Once, an individual in visible possession of a pistol and wearing a t-shirt in support of a militia group came onto RUSTYBOWERS property and screamed at him. At the time of these events, RUSTYBOWERS daughter was at home and was very ill, and the noise caused her “disruption and angst.”