As reported by the Wisconsin State Journal, the “Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office has suggested that state or federal officials take up” the issue of Republicans in Wisconsin who presented falsified documents claiming that the state’s electoral votes went to Trump. A similar GOP scheme unfolded in a slew of other states where Biden was victorious, with justifications including the notion that undertaking these moves would help keep avenues open for challenges to the election outcome — but no legitimate evidence has ever emerged suggesting that the outcome could’ve been legitimately changed once it had been determined. In Wisconsin, Republicans met to sign off on the falsified documents an hour after the state Supreme Court upheld Biden’s win there.
U.S. Capitol riot probe to report any phony elector evidence to Justice Dept-chairman https://t.co/VJ2QScKQtY pic.twitter.com/OzDnfwIAKx
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 23, 2022
The latest perspectives on the issue from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office were contained in a letter from Assistant District Attorney Matthew Westphal to attorney Jeffrey Mandell, who’d filed a complaint over the matter. Westphal said that the District Attorney’s office had “already consulted with the Wisconsin [Department of Justice] to discuss these matters,” adding: “The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office will be available to provide any necessary assistance to the extent available.” Wisconsin state Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) recently insisted that he thinks it’s “critical that the federal government fully investigates and prosecutes any unlawful actions in furtherance of any seditious conspiracy.” For the first time, a slew of individuals tied to the Capitol riot were recently charged with seditious conspiracy.
'We need to see justice and accountability': Michigan Secretary of State says GOP fake elector scheme shows new level of disrespect for U.S. voters https://t.co/KULs2aVYa0
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 16, 2022
Mandell explains that he “[understands] the letter to say that the district attorney’s office has conducted a legal analysis and believes that there are significant issues here and possible legal violations.” That’s certainly been the conclusion of others looking at this: the state Attorney Generals in Michigan and New Mexico have formally referred the matter of their respective states’ parts of the overall scheme to federal authorities.
"One fake elector from Michigan boasted that the Trump campaign directed the entire operation. 'We fought to seat the electors. The Trump campaign asked us to do that,' Meshawn Maddock, co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party, said…" https://t.co/6XswvRBUoU
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 21, 2022
Westphal, the assistant district attorney from Milwaukee, noted that the statewide origins of the Republicans falsely casting themselves as electoral college members suggests that some other authority, with a more expansive jurisdiction, should take up the matter. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) recently formally requested an investigation into the scheme by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, insisting that “[when] individuals lie and commit fraud about our elections and get away with it, it shatters the most basic levels of trust we have in our democracy.” Trump ally Rudy Giuliani has been reported to have been involved in leading the cross-state effort to assemble falsified electoral votes on Trump’s behalf, which could potentially help bolster the case behind a possible recommendation to the Justice Department from the House committee investigating the Capitol riot for a prosecution on criminal conspiracy charges, although such a recommendation would not be binding.
'Her office believes that can be charged as a crime': Fake elector scheme draws the attention of more state attorneys general https://t.co/eiGoiLKltL
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 21, 2022
