Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) called for federal prosecutors to investigate the 16 Republicans who signed a fake document saying Donald Trump won Michigan’s electoral votes and sent it into the National Archives in the 2020 election.
The National Archives did not accept the illegal papers and the Office of the Federal Register alerted Michigan’s elections director that they had received fraudulent documents signed by “electors” who had not been appointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).
“Under state law, I think clearly you have forgery of a public record, which is a 14-year offense, and election law forgery, which is a five-year offense,” Nessel said in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
Signees included Republican National Committee member Kathy Brenden, Shelby County Clerk Stanley Grot and State Party co-chairMeshawn Maddock, who was elected to the position after signing the fraudulent documents. None of them had the authority to represent Michigan in the electoral college.
“It is an illegal attempt, in my view, to not just circumvent the will of the voters, but to damage voters’ confidence in democracy in our state and around the country,” Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson (D) said.
The fraudulent documents have now been found in seven states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, indicating a more organized scheme than originally believed. Each of the documents is strikingly similar – down to the wording, fonts and spacing. Not all of them include state leaders. Arizona’s documents were signed by a sovereign citizens group, headed by Lori Osiecki. The group used the Arizona state seal on their documents and are being prosecuted for using the state to give credibility to wrongful election results.
Investigations have begun, but no one has been charged.
