Fake electors face criminal charges in Michigan

WHAT YOU MISSED

• Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) stated at a recent event that his new party, the center-right “No Labels,” could run presidential candidates in the event of a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024.
  
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• "I don't give a damn what the governor says," Wisconsin state Sen. Cory Tomczyk said at a state Senate committee hearing Tuesday, proposing a constitutional amendment to create an exemption for places of worship during emergency declarations. He also suggested impeaching Gov. Tony Evers (D) for his executive actions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fake electors facing legal charges in Michigan

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed charges against 16 individuals — including state Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock and state Republican National committeewoman Kathy Berden — for attempting to change the designation of the state’s 16 electoral votes. Nessel announced the felony indictments, including forgery, yesterday.

These 16 individuals, according to Nessel, signed documents claiming they were the rightful electorate for the selection of president and vice president.

“The false electors’ actions undermined the public’s faith in the integrity of our elections and, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan,” Nessel said on Tuesday.

"My department has prosecuted numerous cases of election law violations throughout my tenure, and it would be malfeasance of the greatest magnitude if my department failed to act here in the face of overwhelming evidence of an organized effort to circumvent the lawfully cast ballots of millions of Michigan voters in a presidential election.”

An affidavit released yesterday revealed that on Dec. 14, 2020, the fake electorate held a secret meeting in the basement of Michigan Republican headquarters in Lansing and cellphones were confiscated to preclude anyone from recording the groups’ conspiracy.

Text messages acquired through a search warrant show that those charged knew their subterfuge had to be kept under wraps. “I see Meshawn posted on facebook (sic) even though we were all asked to keep silent as to not draw attention to what other states were doing similar to ours,” Berden texted another GOP “elector.”

Nessel did not exclude the possibility that more charges could be brought against other collaborators.

“While today we are announcing charges against these 16 defendants, this remains an ongoing investigation, and our department has not ruled out potential charges against additional defendants,” she concluded.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

• President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he will plan to host far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coming months. Netanyahu, who has faced protests at home for his undemocratic remaking of the country’s judiciary and appointment of reactionary politicians to his cabinet, will attempt to smooth relations with Israel’s most important ally.