Left: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announces criminal charges against 16 Republicans posing as electors (screengrab via YouTube). Right: Former President Donald Trump throws hats into the crowd during a Save America rally on October 1, 2022 in Warren, Michigan. (Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
Sixteen Michigan Republicans face felony indictments for falsely proclaiming themselves “backup electors” in a coordinated attempt to overturn to the results of the 2020 presidential election and seat Donald Trump as president.
In a videotaped statement, Michigan AG Dana Nessel described the allegations against the accused conspirators: the group, which included former state GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, met covertly in the basement of the Michigan GOP headquarters where they planned to “outmaneuver and circumvent the longstanding electoral college process.”
Nessel described the group’s plan to present itself as an illegal “backup slate of electors,” then enter the state Capitol with falsified votes and eventually use fabricated documents to deliver votes to the national archives with the intent that then-Vice President Mike Pence would use them to declare Trump president
“They weren’t the duly elected and qualified electors and each of the defendants knew it,” Nessel said.
Nessel denounced the group’s actions as a “desperate effort” to subvert the will of millions of Michigan voters, undermine democracy, and install Trump despite a clear electoral victory for President Joe Biden in the election 41 days earlier.
“They may have genuinely believed that this was their patriotic duty,” Nessel said of the defendants’ possible motives, “but that’s not a legal defense.”
Each of the 16 phony electors now faces charges of conspiracy to commit forgery, conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing a false record, and election law forgery. The forgery charges carry a potential 14-year prison sentence, while the election charges have a maximum of up to five years behind bars.
Nessel preempted any criticism that her decision to prosecute the group was political.
“Undoubtedly, there are those who will claim these charges are political in nature,” she said. “But where there is overwhelming evidence of guilt with respect to multiple crimes, the most political act I could engage in as a prosecutor would be to take no action at all.”
Despite the Trump campaign’s public peddling of what came to be known as the “Big Lie,” Nessel mentioned in her statement some things the former president’s campaign did not do in the days following Biden’s victory.
“The Trump campaign never asked for a recount despite its legal right to do so,” she said.
Nessel recalled the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election.
“There are always winners and losers,” Nessel said of the Bush v. Gore election before striking a stark contrast between Gore supporters and Trump supporters.
“Despite the disappointment, the lost legal battles, and the sincerely held belief of Gore supporters that Gore won the election, they never committed fraud and they certainly did not attempt to override the cornerstone of our democracy and subvert the democratic process,” Nessel said.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is also looking into similar schemes in his state, while Trump himself faces potential state and federal charges for election interference.
The defendants named in the Michigan false electors case are: Kathleen Berden, Mayra Rodriguez, Meshawn Maddock, John Haggard, Kent Vanderwood, Marian Sheridan, James Renner, Amy Facchinello, Rose Rook, William Choate, Mari-Ann Henry, Clifford Frost Jr., Stanley Grot, Timothy King, Michele Lundgren, and Kenneth Thompson.
Nesser said in her announcement that she has not ruled out additional prosecutions in the matter.
You can read the full complaint here.
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