The Fake Electors

[Chilidog]

Happy Birthday to you!

Here's a summons for you!

You shart like a monkey

And belong in jail too.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

[Dr. Ken]

[bob]

[MN-Skeptic]

From CNN - Three Trump allies charged in Wisconsin fake elector scheme

The Wisconsin attorney general on Tuesday filed charges against three allies of Donald Trump accused of taking part in the effort to put forth a slate of fake electors and usurp the 2020 presidential election, according to online court records.

The men – Kenneth Chesebro, a right-wing attorney who helped devise the fake elector plot; Jim Troupis, a former Trump lawyer; and Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official – are each facing a single forgery charge.

Wisconsin is the latest state to bring charges against people connected to the former president involved in the broad effort to overturn the presidential election results. State prosecutors in Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia also have brought charges against a swath of Trump’s allies.

An attorney for Chesebro declined to comment. CNN has reached out to attorneys for Troupis and Roman.

Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued a one word response to the charges Tuesday: “Good.”

[MN-Skeptic]

Aaron Blake
@AaronBlake

There were pro-Trump fake electors in 7 states.

With the addition of Wisconsin, there have been charges brought against at least some of them in 5 of those states.

A likely significant reason for lack of charges in PA and NM:

Electors in those 2 states specified that they were just a *contingency* if Trump were declared the winner in their states.

That didn't exist in the other 5 states. They just claimed duly elected status.

For those who can't see the tweet, Blake includes a U.S. map showing the charges have been brought in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin. The second tweet quotes a Washington Post article from 6/7/2022 which stated:

Another 25 electors in New Mexico and Pennsylvania, by contrast, merely stated that they would be duly elected if it were determined legally that Trump won the popular vote in their state. One could certainly read those contingencies to suggest they worried about the legal ramifications of claiming “duly elected” status if they didn’t invoke them. There’s also the fact that several people who were invited to be fake electors declined to take part. (Perhaps they simply didn’t agree with the effort or think it had a chance of success, but it reinforces how far-fetched all of this was, at the least.)

[Kendra]

I hope at least one of the Capitol Hill reporters asks Ron Johnson about these charges.

[Slim Cognito]

[MN-Skeptic]

The Wisconsin criminal complaint - https://www.doj.state.wi.us/sites/defau ... plaint.PDF

[RTH10260]

The fake elector defense: what Trump allies are saying to justify the 2020 scheme
Wisconsin’s fake electors are claiming, like many others across the US, that they were misled

Rachel Leingang
Wed 5 Jun 2024 12.00 CEST

Three allies of Donald Trump were charged in Wisconsin Tuesday for their roles in advancing the fake electors plan, but the 10 fake electors themselves have not yet been criminally charged.

That might be because the Wisconsin fake electors, like other fake electors across the US, have said in media interviews they were misled to believe their documents could only be used if court challenges went for the former president. Others have said they were following lawyers’ advice when they signed on.

Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul’s office has said it is still investigating and hasn’t ruled out charges against the individual electors, who have faced a civil suit they settled by agreeing not to serve as electors for Trump again.

In April, 18 people were charged in Arizona in that state’s inquiry into the fake elector scheme. Defense attorneys representing some of those charged in Arizona have used similar justifications, saying they were following lawyers’ advice when they signed on.



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/art ... rs-defense

[Kendra]

CNN reported that today is the day for Mark Meadows' arraignment, virtually.

[Foggy]

[raison de arizona]

Mugshots for the AZ crew have been released, click through the Twit for a bunch more.

More mugshots from the Arizona fake elector case provided to the @ArizonaMirror by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

New mugshots include Rudy Guiliani and Jim Lamon.

[raison de arizona]

BREAKING: A judge has dismissed the criminal case in Nevada against the state's false GOP electors, saying she didn't have jurisdiction to oversee the matter.

She suggested the case should have been brought in a different area of the state.

[RTH10260]

Question: what court "up north" would be the one with better jurisdiction?

[raison de arizona]

This may be the end of the road for this one if they can't successfully appeal. The three year statute of limitations expired in December and the AG will be unable to refile "up north."

[bob]

Question: what court "up north" would be the one with better jurisdiction?

I haven't bothered to read the full ruling, but I infer in the county where the fake electors crimed. Presumably the City and County of Carson City (Nevada's capitol, as electors are supposed to meet in each state's capitol to vote).

Per this article, the case was filed in Clark County, aka Las Vegas.

I presume this may be A Big Deal due to the statute of limitations, i.e., a prosecutor would be time barred from starting over in another county.

[raison de arizona]

Prosecutors listed 14 reasons why Clark County was the appropriate jurisdiction, including that two of the defendants — Law and McDonald — live in Clark County and that certain mail related to the fake elector scheme passed through the county. Most notably, fraudulent electoral documents were mailed to a federal judge in Las Vegas.

Attorney Richard Wright, who is representing McDonald, argued that the fraudulent documents addressed to Miranda Du, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Nevada, were erroneously sent to Las Vegas. Du is based in Reno, and the documents were never opened in Las Vegas, according to testimony from the court clerk, which Wright said was withheld from the grand jury.

“It temporarily made a pit stop in Las Vegas,” Wright said.

Meanwhile, Matthew Rashbrook, a lawyer with the attorney general’s office, said Clark County became implicated in the scheme when these documents were mailed to Las Vegas, even if they were rerouted to Reno.

Holthus ultimately concluded this was not enough to warrant Clark County being the most appropriate venue.

https://thenevadaindependent.com/articl ... risdiction

[bob]

Attorney Richard Wright, who is representing McDonald, argued that the fraudulent documents addressed to Miranda Du, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Nevada, were erroneously sent to Las Vegas. Du is based in Reno, and the documents were never opened in Las Vegas, according to testimony from the court clerk, which Wright said was withheld from the grand jury.

“It temporarily made a pit stop in Las Vegas,” Wright said.

Meanwhile, Matthew Rashbrook, a lawyer with the attorney general’s office, said Clark County became implicated in the scheme when these documents were mailed to Las Vegas, even if they were rerouted to Reno.

Holthus ultimately concluded this was not enough to warrant Clark County being the most appropriate venue.

This is actually a kinda interesting crim law issue, as the crimers intended to involve Reno (Washoe County) but actually involved Las Vegas (Clark County). For a crime that primarily occurred in Carson City (its own county).

And, relatedly, should/could the court have transferred the case (and thus avoided the looming statute of limitations issue), instead of dismissing.

[raison de arizona]

Gotta wonder why they didn't file in Washoe or Carson City. Either of them seems like it would make more sense.

[bob]

Gotta wonder why they didn't file in Washoe or Carson City. Either of them seems like it would make more sense.

Honestly, it probably was jury-pool shopping (which the defendants had argued).

That article also mentioned Douglas County, from where the letters were sent.

A Crim Law final exam is being born somewhere.

[Ben-Prime]

Gotta wonder why they didn't file in Washoe or Carson City. Either of them seems like it would make more sense.

Honestly, it probably was jury-pool shopping (which the defendants had argued).

That article also mentioned Douglas County, from where the letters were sent.

A Crim Law final exam is being born somewhere.

So something like: John was standing in X County when he fired a shot at Bill, who was standing just over the county line in Z County. Because of the borders, the bullet actually ricocheted off a sign in Y county before striking Bill. Which county has jurisdiction?

[Frater I*I]

So something like: John was standing in X County when he fired a shot at Bill, who was standing just over the county line in Z County. Because of the borders, the bullet actually ricocheted off a sign in Y county before striking Bill. Which county has jurisdiction?

And show your formulas.....

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Gotta wonder why they didn't file in Washoe or Carson City. Either of them seems like it would make more sense.

Honestly, it probably was jury-pool shopping (which the defendants had argued).

That article also mentioned Douglas County, from where the letters were sent.

A Criminal Law final exam is being born somewhere.

[raison de arizona]

Trump PAC paid the law firm representing indicted legal adviser Boris Epshteyn in Arizona, records show
Since last year, none of the other fake elector co-defendants with ties to Trump in Arizona or Georgia appear to have directly received financial support from the PAC for legal expenses.

New campaign finance records show that Donald Trump's political action committee paid the legal firm representing the former president's longtime adviser Boris Epshteyn ahead of his pending criminal trial in Arizona.

The leadership PAC, Save America, made two payments of $40,000 and $10,000 on May 14 to the Phoenix-based law firm Tully Bailey LLP. Named partner Michael Bailey, who was the U.S. attorney for Arizona from 2019 to 2021, has represented Epshteyn in the Arizona case since at least May 9, according to court records.

Epshteyn was among those indicted in April on state charges that he helped orchestrate the alleged fake elector scheme in Arizona to send electors for Trump to the U.S. Capitol to be counted instead of Joe Biden’s electors after the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald ... rcna160073