let's discuss what's going on with arizona's attorney general, kris mayes, attorney general. thank you so much for joining us. what avenues do you have to challenge this new law, this law in arizona, your state, as we've noted, that dates back to the civil war era before arizona was even the state yeah. >> hi. well, thanks for having me. well, we are we are exploring all of those avenues everything is on the table, right now for us, and it's time to fight arizonans. want us to fight back against this extreme draconian civil. war era abortion ban that was passed at a time when arizona wasn't a stay. the civil war is still raging, and women couldn't even vote. so we're looking at everything that we possibly can to make sure that this ban never actually goes into place in arizona and i have said wolf, that as attorney general, i will not prosecute any doctor, nurse pharmacist, or woman under the 18-60 for ban or the 15 week ban that we also had in place and that that promise remains firm. the vast majority of arizonans do not want to be dragged back to 18, 64, and that's a signi

the skills of the heart of the conspiracy that kris mayes, the attorney general, lays out. >> we were just showing that video before we should also note as context, we're going to dig into these charges here, that the notion that the fake electors scheme itself was a criminal enterprise is reflected, too, in the rico indictment in georgia were fake electors are also part of that criminal indictment and an investigation that has been ongoing in michigan, as well, where some of those fake electors have been charged. arizona joins a number of states where the fake elector plot with being pulled off and after some investigation, grantors concluded that there was probable cause to indict for a crime with respect to their activities. >> absolutely, and at the heart of this indictment is the fact that the john eastman allegedly calls rusty bowers, who is the republican speaker of the house and after doug ducey had already certified the results and folks may recall the day that literally doug ducey, the governor of arizona at the time, was planning and hail to the chief started playing on his

kris mayes had been squarely focused on local conservatives up until late last year. he provided records that revealed more information about the arizona effort. after that, they said, the arizona investigation widened. how did she go about this? because it sounds like she started near the top. >> the arizona targets are the easiest of targets. as you said, they did it out in the open. they were openly tweeting about it posting the video of what they did. the other seven individuals, the like of john eastman, rudy giuliani. christina bobb are redacted because they have yet to be served. these are individuals that were tougher targets here and part of a greater conspiracy. she could have focused on the 11 electors but kris mayes clearly intended to target and make it clear that this conspiracy was not only a threat to the 2020 election, but also the 2022 election and potentially future elections and clearly made the decision to proceed. and if i may, what is notable about her indictment here is the fact that she specifically out lines the fact that she contends that th

not include doctors who are just trying to provide care and save the lives of arizona women. >> kris mayes, i am glad to talk with you. we will keep in touch and see how this develops. thank you so much, kris. >>> he has been drowning in a sea of chaos. next, how donald trump mike johnson a lifeline. like here. and here. not so much here. farxiga reduces the risk of kidney failure which can lead to dialysis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ ♪♪ farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract or genital yeast infections and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. when you have chronic kidney disease, it's time to ask your doctor for farxiga. because there are places you want to be. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ >>> mike johnson is reaching out to donald trump amid increasing threats to is job johnson paid a

but what kris mayes is outlining in the indictment is this was intendeds to seek donald trump whether he had the electoral college votes or not. >> i was struck by the passage in the indictment. this seems legally significant, the sort of cover under which these fake electors have operated not just in arizona but other states. well, this was a contingency plan. >> i thought that passage from an e-mail from coconspiratorter 5l is really damning. just fyi i recall now there was a rush for legal petition to give cover for electors in arizona to vote on the 14th. that e-mail is stunning, and that has been in the public domain before. in fact, t you can identify fro other public reporting who the unindicted coconspiratorter is, but i hadon forgotten about the details. it's just like many of the details in the hush money trial that's currently going on are things we have known for years. so too is this an e-mail that's been out in the public domain. but juxtaposed against all the litigation that was filed in arizona to see it one after the other fail and this admission from unindicted cocon

. >> reporter: arizona's democratic attorney general kris mayes says she won't enforce the 1864 law,can't stop local prosecutors from doing so. >> i would urge arizonans are pregnant to make a plan. and i can't believe i'm having to say that. start thinking about california and nevada and new mexico or colorado. >> reporter: dr. taylor is focused on keeping her doors open, even if the ban goes into effect. >> at this point, the goal is to provide abortion care until we can't legally do it anymore. >> reporter: are you now preparing that that reality might be sooner than you think? >> we are prepared for that reality. and then, i -- i think about the staff, you know, they could work anywhere, but they choose to work here. >> reporter: if the clinic can't provide abortions, that means women like this 23-year-old would have no place to go. she showed up relieved that she made it before the ban goes into effect. she asked us not to show her face. were you confused when you saw the news that the supreme court is allowing this abortion ban to go into effect? >> i thought, what's going to h

. >> reporter: arizona's democratic attorney general kris mayes says she won't enforce the law, but concedes can't stop local prosecutors. >> i would urge arizonans who are pregnant to make a plan. and i can't believe i'm having to say that, but it's time to make a plan for 60 days from now, if something goes wrong, if you need an abortion, if you want an abortion. start thinking about california and nevada and new mexico or colorado. >> reporter: voters could ultimately decide the issue in november, when arizona and as many as 13 other states could have abortion measures on the ballot. and the law has become a flashpoint in the race for the white house, where arizona is a key battleground. donald trump says he's proud to have appointed three of the five supreme court justices who overturned roe versus wade. but sensing political quicksand, he now says abortion should be left to the states. >> it was an incredible thing, an incredible achievement. we did that and now the states have it. >> reporter: now trump says arizona went too far. but president biden says by appointing the justices who

. >> hi, i'm arizona attorney general kris mayes. let me start by thanking everyone for your patience as we conducted a thorough and professional investigation over the past 13 months into the fake elector's scheme in our state. i will not allow american democracy to be undermined. we are here because justice demands an answer to the efforts the defendants and other unindicted coconspirators allegedly took undermine the will of arizona's voters during the 2020 presidential election. they chemod to prevent the unlawful transfer of the presidency. raised false claims of widespread voter fraud in arizona to pressure elections officials to change the outcome of a transparent free and fair democratic election. those efforts ultimately failed when officials stood firm, followed their statutory duties and certified arizona's election on november 30th, 2020. these defendants deceived the citizens of arizona by falsely claiming that those votes were contingent only on a legal challenge that would change the outcome of the election. in reality

attorney general kris mayes, thank you for what you have done for the people of arizona.reidout. all in with chris hayes is now. >>> tonight on all in. >> the president wrote a check as payment for hush money

attorney general kris mayes, thank you for what you have done for the people of arizona. that is it for the reidout. all in with chris hayes is now. >>> tonight on all in. >> the president wrote a check as payment for hush money to finance campaign laws. >> a witness list for the trial of donald trump. >> he said something to the effect of, don't worry. your january and february reimbursement checks will come in. >> the witness list we could see including a few surprises including the dystopic it origins of arizona's new abortion law as republican panic sets in. >> the only issue they think they have this on abortion. all i say is, the states are handling it. >>> looking back at one of the most important cultural moments in the 20th century after the death of o.j. simpson. >> we the jury in the above entitled action finally -- finds the accused or and thought james the system -- simpson not guilty. >> all in starts now. >>> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. donald trump's criminal trial for allegedly paying hush money to an adult film star scheduled to begin at

tonight arizona's attorney general, kris mayes, announced the indictments. >> let me thank everyone for their patience as we conducted a thorough and professional investigation into the fake elector scheme in our state. i understand for some of you today didn't come fast enough and i know i'll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all, but as i have stated before and will say here again today, i will not allow american democracy to be undermined. we're here because justice demands an answer to the efforts that the defendants and other unindicted co- conspirators allegedly took to undermine the will of arizona's voters during the 2020 presidential election. arizona's election was free and fair. the people of arizona elected president biden. unwilling to accept this fact, the defendants charged by the state grand jury allegedly schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency. the defendants and other unindicted co-conspirators raised false claims of widespread voter fraud in arizona to pressure elections officials to change the outcome of a transparency, fr

kris mayes making those comments with an interview with nbc news. the a.g. says she will not prosecute anyone in violation of the law, and right now there's an attempt to get signatures so that an initiative goes on the november ballot to codify reproductive rights in the state. here is mayes amplifying her position as part of a speech posted to the attorney general's youtube page. >> arizonans have my commitment that as long as i'm attorney general, i will fight like hell and my office will continue to do everything we can to protect and defend the fundamental rights of every arizonan. everything is on the table and we will pursue every option available to us to ensure that this decision is never implemented in the state of arizona. >> reporter: now, shortly after this week's announcement, governor newsom posted on x that he remains ready to help arizonans access reproductive health care. in a statement to nbc news, one abortion provider says, while he appreciates mayes' promise, ill likely will mean little to doctors who will not be able to perform the pro

the democratic state attorney general, kris mayes, has the full power to enforce abortion laws thanks to an executive order from your state's governor, katie hobbs. >> but >> mayes has vowed not to enforce any abortion law, especially not this one but couldn't that decision essentially be challenged by local attorneys and basically create chaos in your state well i will tell you i'm not a lawyer, but i am certain that they're going to be a number of challenges that we're going to see in the coming weeks. we only have a two-week stay on this 1800s band before it goes into effect. but we have been talking about this band and this band has been being litigated for much longer than two weeks. and so any effort by the courts to try to reverse or to alter this decision is going to take longer than that. and so we really need to have some sort of legislative action. now, in order to be able to protect this right for patients and arizona and to your point, i mean, this is going to be something that will affect women very. very soon if it's allowed to go into effect but you've also been urging

geoff: well, in the meantime, arizona's attorney general, kris mayes, says she will not prosecute anyo performs abortion procedures. mayes says that this is a collective effort with the state's governor. how is that being received by county prosecutors, who could potentially use their own discretion? carter: i think that there are many, many questions about what it really means for an official like mayes to say that she will try to hold off on any kind of prosecutions of abortion providers. the providers that i have talked to and i have heard from don't necessarily feel like they are totally in the clear at this point, and they are confused about what it means moving forward if they were to provide abortions. geoff: what's the expected impact on women's health care in arizona and in the surrounding region? carter: arizona has been a critical release valve for places like texas, which have a total abortion ban on the books right now. so, if we ban abortion totally, or almost totally, in arizona, there's going to be plenty of people throughout the southwest who previously might have fle

. >> the attorney general's race between democrat kris mayes. >> we're running against a candidate who said he would enforce the 1864 ban on abortion. >> my opponent wants to lock up doctors and punish women. not on my watch. >> the recount for arizona attorney general's race came down to less than 300 votes. >> one of the closest races in state history. mayes beating hamaday for attorney general by only 280 votes. >> this was the nail-biter of a race. i don't know, maybe they'll end up calling me landslide mayes. >> not exactly a landslide. it was very close. that's why some of what we hear about elections is so off base. we get why people are tired of endless political hyperbole, and we get why people focus on the top of the ticket and say i'm not sure i like either of these guys, they're both seniors. i'm not sure i'm excited about the current president and i have certain feelings about the past president and the conversation ends there. in arizona right now these doctors and many women are looking at this situation, and it is night and day based on the outcome of that race. and as

here's arizona's attorney general kris mayes. >> i understand for some of you today it didn't come fast enough, and i know i'll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all. as i've stated before and will say here again today i will not allow american democracy to be nsaid mined. it's too important. >> the republican party of arizona said in a statement posted to social media that the indictments represented a blatant and unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial power aimed solely at distracting the public from the critical policy debates our country should be focusing on as we approach the 2024 election. now, arizona becomes the fourth state to file criminal charges against the so-called fake electors that sought to undermine president biden's victory over trump. in just hours, meanwhile, donald trump's criminal hush money trial will resume for day seven after court was in recess yesterday. testimony will get under way with former national enquirer publisher david pecker, set to take the witness stand for a third day. prosecutors wrapped up on tuesday after pecker descr

we have breaking news out of the state of arizona, where attorney general kris mayes just announced a grand jury in arizona have returned indictments in the investigation into the fake collector scheme in that state to steal the 2020 election. you will remember that was the plot devised by allies of donald trump to send false certificates to the national archives, claiming that donald trump won the state's electoral vote, rather than joe biden. this played out in seven battleground states with the intent to sow chaos and confusion at the certification of the electoral votes, which was to take place on january 6th. arizona attorney general mays has been investigating the steam since shortly after -- scheme, since shortly after she took office. >> we are here because justice demands answered to the -- defendant and other unindicted co-conspirators allegedly took to undermine the will of arizona voters during the 2020 election. whatever the reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for, i was elected to uphold the law of this state. >> 18 people are listed in the indict

the attorney general there, kris mayes says her office is now looking into all avenues to mitigate the impact of the civil war air abortion ban, including helping arizona doctors get licenses and other states. 18 64 arizona law. outlaws abortion from the moment of conception and the only exception being to save a woman's life. any health care provider who performs an abortion could be charged with a felony and face up to 5 years in prison. governor gavin newsom says california remains ready to help people from arizona access reproductive health care. and that abortion ban is set to take effect in 2 weeks. planned parenthood clinics in california are preparing for an increase and out of state patients. and the republican speaker of the house and donald trump are in florida. the 2 leaders will be making a joint announcement about election security at set to happen any moment now. our dc's raquel martin gets us up to date. the visit comes at a critical time for both leaders. we are now just days away from the former president's first criminal trial. >> and as conservatives threatened to r

here is arizona's attorney general, kris mayes. >> i know today didn't come fast enough, and i'll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all. as i've stated before and will say again today, i will not allow american democracy to be undermined. it's too important. >> arizona becomes the fourth state to file criminal charges against the so-called fake electors that sought to undermine president biden's victory over trump. joe, we saw the video there. they also signed a fake certificate that they posted to social media. i mean, they were breaking the law, pretending they were the state's electors when they weren't. joe biden had narrowly won, broadcasting exactly what they were doing, and now the bill has come due. >> you know, i'm -- i'm not a prosecutor. we have plenty of former prosecutors on, and we're going to bring them on in a minute. but, willie, it's like, thank you so much for waiting until the day before the election. all of these cases that were brought in 2020 -- late 2023, '24. december 14th, 2020. i really am -- and i'm certainly not just pointing ou

. >> reporter: arizona's attorney general kris mayes says she won't enforce the law, but concedes sheocal prosecutors. >> i would urge arizonans who are pregnant to make a plan, and i can't believe i'm having to say that, but it's time to make a plan for 60 days for now, if something goes wrong, if you need an abortion, if you want an abortion. start thinking about california and nevada and new mexico or colorado. >> reporter: now voters could ultimately decide this issue in november. when arizona and as many as 13 other states have abortion measures on the ballot, including in florida where a six-week ban is set to become law on may 1st. abortion rights has won in all six states where it has been on the ballot, including conservative states like ohio, kansas, and kentucky. >> i promise you this. the people of arizona are going to make sure that this 1864 ban is buried forever in november when they pass a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in our constitution. >> george: and we're joined now by senator tina smith of arizona. thank you for joining us this morning. you're lea

president was not indicted, but as listed as an unindicted coconspirator arizona attorney general, kris mayes, who led this investigation, spoke about the indictments yesterday. arizona's election was free and fair. the people of arizona elected president biden, unwilling to accept this fact. the defendants charged by the state grand jury allegedly schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for me now to discuss is former january 6 investigative counsel, marcus children's marcus. good morning to you. thanks so much for being here. can you help us understand why why we're learning about this now, how this has unfolded in arizona, and how it plays out. in to the bigger picture of all of the legal challenges around the 2020 election well, it's always nice when you can kinda zoom in and see how this was impacted on a state-by-state level. >> and i think it's an interesting juxtaposition that we have here today. you mentioned supreme court here in this case, and that really got there from the federal january 6

arizona attorney general kris mayes joins us now here on "morning joe."ound out she's pregnant and she lives in arizona and she's worried, what happens if she has a problematic pregnancy, what happens if she needs a dnc, what happens if she needs a termination because she has fetal abnormalities, does she need to leave the state? >> mika, hi, thanks for having me. it's an important question and, you know, yesterday women and men, republicans, independents, democrats, woke up to a situation in which the arizona supreme court reimposed this 1864 ban. it's insane. it's egregious. it's an affront to our freedom. so, you know, i think women are scrambling right now to try to figure this situation out. i have said that i will not prosecute any woman, doctor, pharmacist, nurse or individual who helps a woman to seek an abortion or reproductive access. i've also said, and we are looking at everything we can right now from a legal standpoint to prevent this decision from going into effect. i've had some phone calls from my fellow attorneys general in states around

from conspiracy and forgery to engaging in fraudulent schemes this is arizona's attorney general, kris mayes, announcing these indictments tonight. >> the people of arizona elected president biden, unwilling to accept this fact. the defendants charged by the state grand jury allegedly schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for an i was elected to uphold the law of the state let's get straight to, the source tonight with cassidy hutchinson, a former top aide to mark meadows, and now a frequent target of donald trump's after her explosive testimony before the january 6 committee. and cassie, it's great to have you here tonight. i should note we had already scheduled in an interview with you before this news broke this indictment that was just handed up in arizona, that it doesn't name your former boss because his name is redacted, but cnn has confirmed that mark meadows is one of the people who has been indicted here. i mean, this is now the second time he's been indicted. what do you make of this? >>

they followed the facts where the facts lead them attorney general kris mayes and her team have been working with the secretary of state's office and other agencies to make sure that they could cross all the t's and dot all of the i's and they found enough facts to take to a grand jury. the grand jury then figured there was probable cause to bring these charges and the granite jury decided to indict, and so we find ourselves here today with 11 accused quote, unquote fake electors, and several coconspirators who by the way, are all innocence until they are proven guilty in a court of law? >> why donald trump is obviously coconspirator, unindicted coconspirator number one why not indict him? it's certainly wouldn't be the first time well, having been a prosecutor in the past, i can tell you there's gotta be some good reason. you'd have to ask the attorney general however, i'm the secretary of state, and as the chief election officer my job is to make sure that we ensure the integrity of the elections which we have done for quite some time and we will continue to do this is a criminal m