Fake electors play starring role in Jan. 6 charges against Trump
Fake electors play starring role in Jan. 6 charges against Trump | Judicial Watch
August 10 2023
From Washington Times:
Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, was called to testify before the grand jury that indicted Mr. Trump over his post-election actions.
Mr. Fitton, who consulted with Mr. Trump following the election, said he testified to the grand jury about his concerns in 2020 when it was reported that a group of top government officials, including Democrat John Podesta, participated in a project called the Transition Integrity Project. The participants played out 2020 election scenarios that would keep Mr. Trump out of office.
Fake electors play starring role in Jan. 6 charges against Trump – Washington Times
The latest federal charges against former President Donald Trump accused him of working to subvert the 2020 election by pushing officials in seven states to create a fraudulent slate of electors to force then-Vice President Mike Pence to block Congress from certifying Joseph R. Biden’s victory.
The charge against Mr. Trump is outlined in special counsel Jack Smith‘s 45-page indictment of the former president, who he charged with four felony counts for trying to overturn the 2020 election results, including the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“On the pretext of baseless fraudulent claims [Mr. Trump] pushed officials in certain states to ignore the popular vote, disenfranchise millions of voters, dismiss legitimate electors and ultimately cause … voting by illegitimate electors in favor of the Defendant,” Mr. Smith contends in the indictment.
Mr. Trump‘s lawyers have vigorously denied the charge, and some of Mr. Smith‘s case ignores legal ambiguities around whether Mr. Pence had the authority to block Mr. Biden’s victory.
The charges also ignore past efforts by House and Senate Democrats to contest Electoral College results and it ignores the 1960 election, when Hawaii Democrats asserted John F. Kennedy won the state and sent their own certificate to Congress, even though Richard M. Nixon was ahead by 140 votes. In a recount a few weeks later, Mr. Kennedy was determined to be the winner but state Democrats were not prosecuted for providing alternative electors before those results were calculated