Michigan GOP Members Deny Allegations of Impersonating Electors in Support of Trump
All 16 Michigan Republicans charged in a fraud election scheme to keep former President Donald Trump in power are fighting the charges after the final nine either pleaded not guilty or had a judge enter the pleas on their behalf in state court on Thursday.
Last month, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced criminal charges against 16 Republicans who met after the 2020 election and signed a document falsely claiming to be Michigan’s “duly elected and qualified electors” for president and vice president. In previous court appearances, seven people pleaded not guilty.
The nine defendants who appeared virtually in Ingham County District Court on Thursday were charged with eight criminal counts, including forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The most serious charges carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The Michigan court appearances come just one week after Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges related to his attempt to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss.
Prosecutors allege that the former president and six unidentified co-conspirators orchestrated a scheme to enlist electors in seven battleground states won by Democrat Joe Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.
Kathy Berden, a Republican National Committee committeewoman from Michigan, and Amy Facchinello, a Grand Blanc school board member facing recall, were arrested on Thursday.
Mari-Ann Henry and Meshawn Maddock, a former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party, who was also charged in the scheme, appeared in court last week and pleaded not guilty.
The court appearances mark the start of what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle. Many of those charged in the scheme have maintained that they committed no wrongdoing and have accused Nessel, a Democrat, of being politically motivated.
Investigators claim that on December 14, 2020, a group of Republican electors met at the party headquarters and falsely signed the fake electors document. Michigan State Police denied entry to the fake electors, who falsely claimed to have met in the state Capitol.
Investigations in Other States and Possible Immunity Deals
Investigations are underway in some states that submitted forged ballots, but not all.
A Georgia prosecutor looking into possible illegal election meddling in 2020 has agreed to immunity deals with at least eight fake voters. And Arizona’s Democratic attorney general is in the very early stages of a probe.
Nevada’s attorney general, a Democrat, has said he will not press charges, while Wisconsin has no active investigations, and the attorney general has deferred to the US Justice Department.
Source: HUFFPOST
