Ten months ago, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes was looking into possible charges in her state’s fake-electors scheme — the effort to deny Joe Biden the presidency he won fairly.
In a story on the probe, The Washington Post cited Ashley Adams, a former federal prosecutor.
The Post’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez wrote: “A successful case could hinge on the state of mind of the electors” and quoted Adams as saying: “You’re going to have to have some meat on the bones and show there is some evidence of intent.”
Starting this week, Adams will put that tactic to the test when she defends John Eastman, the former Orange County law professor. His arraignment is set for 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court, where he will plead not guilty.
Eastman is among seven of 18 defendants in the fake-electors case to reveal their lawyer. Former San Diegan Christina Bobb was the first.
Who is Adams?
She’s the founder and principal of Adams & Associates, now specializing in white-collar criminal defense cases, including fraud and government investigations, “with a proven success record.”
From June 1999 to January 2005, as an assistant U.S. attorney in Phoenix, she prosecuted False Claims Act matters including health care and defense procurement fraud and well as fee fraud in national parks and forests.
She “obtained the largest recorded settlement for the District of Arizona against Boeing/McDonnell Douglas in a False Claim Act case,” her website says.
Adams also prosecuted tax evasion and tax fraud, investment fraud and securities fraud.
Now she’s defending Eastman, allegedly a mastermind behind a fraud to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in January 2021. He faces charges of conspiracy, fraud and six counts of forgery.
According to a transcript by the far-right Gateway Pundit site quoted by the New York Sun, Eastman recently said: “I got indicted in Arizona. I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona. I had zero involvement with the election challenges in Arizona.”
Wednesday morning, Adams told Times of San Diego via email that “evidence will show that Mr. Eastman had no communication, nor any contact with any Arizona electors.”
She noted that “every defendant has the right to an attorney, and a right to have their Constitutional and statutory rights protected. Mr. Eastman is no different.”
She didn’t know why Eastman chose her as his Arizona counsel, but “I have practiced law for 33 years in Arizona, I have significant experience in white collar criminal defense, and I am a former AUSA.”
Updated at 11:40 a.m. May 15, 2024