The Jim Lamon fake electors case ended for Lamon himself in December 2025, when the Arizona Attorney General’s office agreed to drop all nine felony charges against him in exchange for his consent to release certain emails to prosecutors. He did not plead guilty, was not required to cooperate against the other defendants, and according to his attorney is unlikely to be called as a witness. The prosecution of the remaining defendants continues.
What Lamon Did in December 2020
On December 14, 2020, Lamon was one of eleven Arizona Republicans who met in Phoenix and signed a document declaring themselves “duly elected and qualified” electors for Donald Trump. Joe Biden had won Arizona by 10,457 votes. The signed document was transmitted to Congress as an alternate slate of electoral votes.1Arizona Republic. US Senate Candidate Jim Lamon Explains False Trump Elector Claim2The Guardian. Arizona Prosecutor Appeal in Fake Elector Case
Lamon later described the document as a “contingency plan,” saying it was meant to assert his status as an elector only if Arizona’s official results were decertified.1Arizona Republic. US Senate Candidate Jim Lamon Explains False Trump Elector Claim
The Indictment
In April 2024, a state grand jury indicted all eleven Arizona fake electors along with seven others, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb, and Michael Roman. That produced eighteen defendants in total. Each faced nine felony counts: one count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one count of fraudulent schemes and practices, and six counts of forgery.3Democracy Docket. Arizona 2020 Trump Fake Electors Indictment4Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Redacted Indictment
The case was filed as Arizona v. Ward in Maricopa County Superior Court. Donald Trump was identified in the charging document as “unindicted coconspirator 1.”3Democracy Docket. Arizona 2020 Trump Fake Electors Indictment Lamon pleaded not guilty in June 2024.5KTAR. Last 3 Defendants Plead Not Guilty in Arizona’s Fake Elector Case
How Lamon’s Lawyers Fought the Charges
Lamon’s attorney, Dennis Wilenchik, built the defense on several arguments. He said no fraud occurred because “nobody was fooled” by the alternate slate, and he described the submission as a contingency plan for Congress. He argued that the federal Electoral Count Act of 1887 allowed multiple slates during a dispute, and he accused prosecutors of an “egregious violation” for failing to provide grand jurors with the full text of that law.6Courthouse News Service. Arizona Fake Electors Aim for Dismissal of Criminal Charges7Your Valley. Another Fake Elector Case Gets Dismissed in Exchange for Email Access
Wilenchik also invoked Arizona’s anti-SLAPP statute, arguing the prosecution targeted “arguably lawful speech.”7Your Valley. Another Fake Elector Case Gets Dismissed in Exchange for Email Access
The December 2025 Dismissal
In December 2025, the Arizona Attorney General’s office agreed to dismiss all nine charges against Lamon. This was not a plea deal. Lamon did not plead guilty. He was not required to cooperate with prosecutors, and Wilenchik said it is “doubtful” he will be called as a witness.8KJZZ. Arizona Attorney General Agrees to Drop Charges Against Jim Lamon in Fake Electors Case
What Lamon gave up was more limited. He agreed not to object to subpoenas for certain emails that prosecutors said were “important to the state’s case.” Investigators had obtained those emails earlier through subpoena, but could not use them because of unresolved questions about attorney-client privilege and Lamon’s authorization. By waiving his objections and voluntarily surrendering the documents, Lamon removed those obstacles.7Your Valley. Another Fake Elector Case Gets Dismissed in Exchange for Email Access9Tucson.com. Fake Elector Jim Lamon’s Deal With Arizona AG
Wilenchik played down the trade. “We agreed to nothing. Producing documents they already had, or waiving objections to them, who wouldn’t do that?” he told reporters. He said the documents do not implicate anyone and that prosecutors “recognized that Jim did not do anything illegal.”7Your Valley. Another Fake Elector Case Gets Dismissed in Exchange for Email Access10AZ Family. Charges Dropped Against Ex-Senate Candidate in Arizona’s Fake Electors Case
Where the Broader Case Stands
The prosecution of the remaining defendants has run into procedural trouble. In May 2025, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers ruled that prosecutors had failed to give the grand jury the full text of the Electoral Count Act, and ordered the case sent back for a new grand jury proceeding or dismissed. Attorney General Kris Mayes appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court. In June 2026, the court declined to revive the original indictments.11CNBC. Arizona Supreme Court Denies Prosecutor Appeal Against Sending Fake Elector Case Back to Grand Jury12Arizona Mirror. Mayes Will Go Back to the Grand Jury After Arizona Supreme Court Doesn’t Revive Fake Electors Case
Mayes has said her office will present the case to a new grand jury. Estimates suggest proceedings could stretch into 2027 or 2028. Both of her Republican challengers in the 2026 attorney general election have pledged to drop the case if elected.13Votebeat. Supreme Court Decision Means Mayes Must Redo Grand Jury in Fake Electors Case
In November 2025, Donald Trump issued pardons to all eleven Arizona fake electors and the other indicted individuals. Those pardons apply only to federal charges and have no legal effect on Arizona’s state prosecution.14Arizona Mirror. Trump Pardons 11 Arizona Fake Electors Of the eighteen original defendants, three have resolved their cases through various agreements, including one who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. The rest have pleaded not guilty.11CNBC. Arizona Supreme Court Denies Prosecutor Appeal Against Sending Fake Elector Case Back to Grand Jury
Who Jim Lamon Is
Lamon is an Arizona businessman who founded DEPCOM Power in Scottsdale in 2013 and grew it into one of the country’s largest utility-scale solar contractors before Koch Engineered Solutions acquired it in November 2021. Lamon publicly valued the company at about $1 billion at the time of the sale.15The Hill. Koch Industries Buys Solar Power Company From GOP Senate Candidate
He ran for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Arizona in 2022, loaning his own campaign more than $18.3 million out of roughly $19.6 million in total receipts.16Federal Election Commission. Jim Lamon for Senate – Candidate Financial Summary He finished second in the August 2022 primary with about 28 percent of the vote, behind Blake Masters. Before his business career, Lamon served six years as an Army Engineer Airborne Officer after earning a civil engineering degree from the University of Alabama.17The CEO Magazine. The Power of Giving Back: Jim Lamon