Fake Trump Electors Charged with Felonies
After attempting to overturn the election, the law has finally made its move
The law is not only coming for Trump, it seems, as several of his fraudulent electors have now been charged with felonies for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The news, reported Wednesday, July 19th, comes amid rumors of another pending indictment against the former president.
On Tuesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced plans to charge 16 people for their involvement in the fake electors sent by Trump allies to the state capitol to cast ballots for Trump.
According to the Michigan AG, the goal was to ensure that Trump received all of the state’s electoral votes based on the false pretense that Trump won the state. Biden won Michigan by 154,188 votes, taking 50.6 percent of the vote.
Far from merely buying into a false view of the election, the Attorney General’s Office alleges that by signing bogus documents affirming that they were the actual electors, they engaged in multiple forms of forgery, including three 14-year felonies.
The significance of the charges is yet to be determined, as the Michigan Attorney General has also raised the prospect of federal involvement in response to what it sees as evidence of an interstate conspiracy.
Describing the issue at hand, Michigan AG Dana Nessel explained:
"Seemingly, there's a conspiracy that occurred between multiple states. So if what your ultimate goal is, is not just to prosecute these 16 individuals, but to find out who put them up to this, is this part of a bigger conspiracy at play in order to undermine the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, not just in Michigan but nationally? ... It creates jurisdictional issues…”
The prospect of federal involvement is particularly stunning because the aforementioned faux documents were sent to multiple officials both in and outside the state. Including the office of then Vice President Mike Pence, the Michigan Secretary of State, the national archivist, and a Chief Judge. With several layers of jurisdiction, alleged wrongdoing, and forgery, the case presents a difficult situation for prosecutors and the public.
Former president Trump was indicted on 37 counts related to his alleged withholding of classified documents in March of this year.1 Other figures are also facing difficulty in their legal affairs. Trump ally and former mayor of New York, Rudolph Guiliani, was recommended for disbarment by a Washington review panel earlier this month over false claims he helped former President Trump prop up after the 2020 election. In another incident, Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis admitted that she misrepresented facts surrounding the 2020 election after facing challenges from bar officials in Colorado, accepting censure.
This is not to say that conviction is inevitable, but it is worth noting that many of the Trumpist inner circle have suffered or continue to suffer legal challenges that could not only upend their ability to influence the legal system in the future.
It is also tempting to focus on electoral impact, but as I argued before, it is far better to pursue legal avenues for the sake of maintaining public institutions and the rule of law than it is for the sake of electoral politics. 2
With increasing partisan distrust of the legal system and the law at large, it remains a necessity for all crimes to be prosecuted with care and all deliberative strength, especially when it comes to the blatantly false idea that the 2020 election was stolen.
When I published my article on the indictment, it was unclear how many charges the former president would face. That was later revealed in subsequent reports. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1182068518/trump-arraignment-gop-primary-2024-criminal-charges
Neither Aaron Ruppar nor Thor Bensen are of the opinion that partisanship should dictate legal proceedings. At the time, I objected to the focus on electoral politics over legal concerns. I stand by it and maintain that our legal system must be preserved.