Michigan beats DOJ to bring first charges against Trump’s ‘false electors’
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is apparently tired of waiting on the U.S. Department of Justice to act on the ‘false electors’ scheme that occurred in December of 2020. The scheme allegedly consisted of a plan to submit fake certificates stating that former President Trump had won seven battle ground states.
The plan was simple but audacious. As described by Professor Ryan Goodman, co-director of the Reiss Center on Law and Security at New York University School, writing in the publication Just Security: “On Dec. 14, 2020, legitimate members of the Electoral College met across the country to sign certificates declaring which presidential candidate won their state. That day, in several states that Biden had won, Republicans met to sign certificates declaring that they were the ‘duly elected and qualified’ members of the Electoral College and falsely declaring Trump the winner of their state. They sent their documents to the National Archives.”
Michigan was one of those states where Republicans sought to submit an illegal certification. On Dec. 14, 2020, the 16 Michigan Republicans now charged sought to enter the Michigan state Capitol but were turned away by police.
Lauren Cox, chair of the Michigan Republican Party in 2020, testified to Congress that she had been made aware of a plan by the 16 fake electors to hide in the Capitol the night before so that they could be inside the Capitol on Dec. 14—the legal date for the certifications to be executed inside the Capitol building. Cox disavowed herself from the plan. [Continue reading…]