A defendant is reportedly cooperating with Arizona prosecutors in the "fake electors" case over alleged illegal efforts to overturn former President Donald Trump's 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
During a taping of the TV program "Sunday Square Off," State Attorney General Kris Mayes said she planned to make a "very significant announcement" early this week about the case, the 12News website reported Friday.
When asked if that meant one of the 18 defendants was going to flip, Mayes reportedly said: "I think that's accurate."
Mayes declined to elaborate but added: "We're making progress in the case, and we feel good about the case," according to 12News.
The defendants, who include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, were indicted in April on charges of conspiracy, fraud and forgery.
They're accused of scheming to submit a document to Congress that falsely claimed Trump won the 2020 election in Arizona, where Biden beat him by more than 10,000 votes.
The document, in which 11 defendants claimed to be "duly elected and qualified" electors to the Electoral College, was sent to Congress and the National Archives, both of which ignored it.
Trump, this year's Republican presidential nominee, isn't charged, but was referred to in the indictment as an "unindicted co-conspirator."
A similar case filed in Nevada was dismissed in June, but the ruling is being appealed by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford. Another case is pending in Michigan.
Trump and 14 co-defendants are awaiting trial in an election-interference racketeering case in Georgia that's on hold pending a December appeals court hearing over defense efforts to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Four people indicted in that case struck plea deals and are cooperating with prosecutors.
Trump is also facing potential prosecution in Washington, D.C., by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith for allegedly scheming with aides to overturn the election results.
In the latter case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last month that presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution over their core constitutional duties and are presumptively immune for all other official acts.
On Friday, the case was formally sent back to U.S District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which, if any, of the allegations in Trump's four-count indictment can proceed to trial.
Chutkan on Saturday rejected arguments to dismiss the indictment and scheduled an Aug. 16 hearing that Trump doesn't have to attend.
If Trump beats Vice President Kamala Harris in November, he could order the dismissal of the Washington case but would be powerless to affect the other cases, which are being handled by state prosecutors.
