Michigan prosecution of fake electors

People of the State of Michigan v. Berden et al. is a state criminal prosecution concerning the Trump fake electors plot in Michigan. The sixteen defendants are accused of producing and attempting to use a false certificate of ascertainment containing electoral votes for Donald Trump, who had lost the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Michigan. The defendants were indicted in July 2023 on criminal charges of forgery, uttering, and conspiracy charges, all felonies.

Michigan v. Berden
CourtIngham County Circuit Court
Full case namePeople of the State of Michigan v. Berden
Docket nos.2022-0343234-A (district court proceedings)
Charge
List of charges
  • Forgery
  • Conspiracy to commit forgery
  • Election law forgery
  • Conspiracy to commit election law forgery
  • Uttering and publishing
  • Conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing

Background

Planning

Joe Biden won Michigan's electoral votes in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by about 154,000 votes, or about three percentage points.[1] Attempts to cause Michigan's electoral vote to be counted for Donald Trump instead were spearheaded by Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman in support of the Trump campaign. The plan targeted seven states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.[2][3][4]

Initially, Giuliani in a series of hearings in December 2020 publicly urged Michigan lawmakers to award its electoral votes to Trump, but was unsuccessful.[4] The Trump electoral slates were then convened anyway, using the justification that they would be alternate slates to be used in case Texas v. Pennsylvania was ruled in favor of Trump. However, that case was thrown out on December 11, 2020, three days before the electoral vote was to occur, a fact that was withheld from most of the defendants by Giuliani and Kenneth Chesebro.[5]

Creation of false electoral documents

Michigan Republican Party chair Laura Cox said that according to an unnamed Trump campaign lawyer, the initial plan was to have electors hide overnight in the Michigan State Capitol, but she opposed that plan.[2][6] The defendants instead met in the basement of the state Republican Party headquarters on December 14, 2020.[7] Two members of the nominated Republican electoral slate did not attend, one of whom was former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, and were replaced. A Trump campaign aide was present as well, according to one of the defendants.[1]

The participants' level of involvement in the scheme varied. False elector Meshawn Maddock and her husband, state representative Matt Maddock, had long-standing ties to Trump and were in direct contact with Trump campaign officials.[4][8] On the other hand, false elector Michele Lundgren told reporters that she had received a call to participate only the previous day and thought the document was a sign-in sheet.[1]

They produced and signed multiple documents falsely stating they were the duly elected and qualified electors in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and that they had placed electoral votes for Donald Trump.[7] Unlike in some other states, the Michigan false certificate of ascertainment did not contain language specifying it was to be used only if the Trump campaign prevailed in litigation, and at the time, all court challenges in Michigan had already been resolved.[2] The documents were then sent to the U.S. Senate and National Archives,[7] as well as the Office of the Federal Register, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and the federal U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.[9]

External video
video icon Republicans try to deliver their own electoral votes to Michigan Capitol—Detroit Free Press

Four defendants later that day attempted to enter the Michigan State Capitol with State Representative Daire Rendon, appearing to present the falsified certificate to gain entry into the building and claiming to be true electors, but they were turned away by the Michigan State Police[1][10] due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions preventing anyone without official business from entering.[10][11]

Subsequent events

In March 2021, the watchdog group American Oversight posted copies of the false documents from several states, including Michigan, obtained from the National Archives via a freedom of information request.[9][12] However, the documents were largely overlooked until the story was reported by Politico in January 2022.[4][13]

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel began an investigation in 2021. In January 2022, she publicly confirmed the state investigation but closed it in favor of asking the federal Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation, citing jurisdictional issues.[9] However, Nessel announced in January 2023 that she was reopening the state investigation due to perceived inaction from from the federal investigation on the matter.[14]

Two of the defendants, Kathy Berden and Mayra Rodriguez, along with a lawyer who tried to deliver the fraudulent certificates of ascertainment, were subpoenaed by the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in June 2022.[14][15] Both testified before the committee, but largely avoided responding to questions by pleading the Fifth.[16]

In January 2023, three of the lawful Michigan electors filed a civil lawsuit against the false electors in Kent County Circuit Court.[17]

Proceedings

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed the charges on July 18, 2023.[7] All defendants were charged with the following eight felonies:[18]

  • Forgery (two counts) and conspiracy to commit forgery (one count)
  • Election law forgery (two counts) and conspiracy to commit election law forgery (one count)
  • Uttering and publishing (one count) and conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing (one count)

In cases where there are two counts, they are for two documents relating to the presidential and vice-presidential elections.

All 16 defendants were charged:[1][18][19]

The arraignments were held in the 54-A District Court in Ingham County.[18] All 16 of the defendants had been arraigned by August 10, 2023, and all pleaded not guilty.[20][21] Probable cause hearings are required before the cases are transferred to the 30th Judicial Circuit Court for trial.[22] Several preliminary hearings were scheduled for dates ranging from September 2023 through January 2024.[23]

On October 19 the Attorney General’s office announced that it was dropping charges against James Renner in exchange for a cooperation agreement.[24]

References
  1. Mauger, Craig; LeBlanc, Beth (July 18, 2023). "16 false Trump electors face felony charges in Michigan". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  2. Gardner, Amy; Marley, Patrick; Sanchez, Yvonne Wingett; Dawsey, Josh (August 8, 2023). "'Fake' elector plot raised concerns over legal peril, indictment shows". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  3. Feuer, Alan; Benner, Katie (July 27, 2022). "The Fake Electors Scheme, Explained". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  4. Cohen, Marshall; Cohen, Zachary; Merica, Dan (January 20, 2022). "Trump campaign officials, led by Rudy Giuliani, oversaw fake electors plot in 7 states". CNN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  5. Pilkington, Ed; Levine, Sam (August 5, 2023). "Inside Trump's 'alternate electors' plot to steal the vote in Georgia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  6. "Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol" (PDF). U.S. House of Representatives. December 22, 2022. p. 354. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  7. Schneider, Joe (July 18, 2023). "Michigan Charges Fake Trump Electors With Scheme to Swing 2020". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on July 19, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  8. Kaczynski, Andrew; Steck, Em (September 7, 2023). "Michigan fake elector described planning with Trump campaign attorneys: 'Mike Pence and Congress [to] make that decision'". CNN. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  9. Eggert, David (January 14, 2022). "Michigan AG asks feds to investigate fake GOP electors". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  10. Villarreal, Daniel (December 15, 2020). "Michigan Republicans Tried to Submit Fake Electoral Votes to Capitol". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  11. Haberman, Maggie; Broadwater, Luke (July 26, 2022). "'Kind of Wild/Creative': Emails Shed Light on Trump Fake Electors Plan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  12. "American Oversight Obtains Seven Phony Certificates of Pro-Trump Electors". American Oversight (Press release). March 2, 2021. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  13. Wu, Nicholas (January 10, 2022). "Jan. 6 panel ramps up investigation into Trump's state-level pressure". Politico. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  14. Boucher, Dave (June 3, 2022). "Nessel reopens criminal probe of GOP 'fake electors' after no word from feds". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  15. Orner, Ben (June 23, 2022). "Michigan false electors served federal subpoenas as Jan. 6 probe intensifies". mlive. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  16. Donahue, Allison R. (December 22, 2022). "Jan. 6 committee releases testimony of Ryan Kelley, two fake Michigan electors". Michigan Advance. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  17. Mauger, Craig (January 12, 2023). "Michigan Biden electors sue false Trump slate, seeking declaration plot was illegal". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  18. "Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel Charges 16 'False Electors' with Election Law and Forgery Felonies". Michigan Department of Attorney General. July 18, 2023. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  19. Cohen, Marshall (July 18, 2023). "What we know about the 16 fake electors charged in Michigan | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  20. Cohen, Marshall (August 10, 2023). "Michigan's fake GOP electors arraigned on state charges". CNN. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  21. Lobo, Arpan; Hendrickson, Clara (August 10, 2023). "Michigan 'fake electors' charged in election scheme plead not guilty during arraignments". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  22. LeBlanc, Beth (August 4, 2023). "Judge delays hearing for former GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock in false Trump electors case". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  23. Davidson, Kyle (August 18, 2023). "Court sets dates for examination in Michigan 2020 false electors cases". Michigan Advance. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  24. Cappelletti, Joey (October 19, 2023). "Michigan Republican charged in false elector plot agrees to cooperation deal". AP News. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
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