Wisconsin attorneys have asked Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to launch a criminal investigation of individuals who signed on as fake electoral college members backing Donald Trump after the 2020 presidential election. Dane County includes Madison, the capital of Wisconsin and where the fake electors met to work through certain steps of their scheme. In seven states where Joe Biden was victorious, including Wisconsin, supporters of ex-President Trump met to assemble what essentially amounted to faked electoral votes for the then-outgoing president. Documentation of these false claims, most of which were presented without any sort of formal equivocation, was submitted to federal authorities.
NBC's Pete Williams: The Supreme Court has formally rejected Trump's appeal to stop the National Archives from handing over documents to the Jan. 6 Committee.
In the final chapter, Trump's appeal was rejected with no noted dissents. @NBCNews— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 22, 2022
The U.S. Justice Department has already been working on an inquiry into the matter, with authorities in both Michigan and New Mexico — two other affected states — having formally referred the issue to federal prosecutors. The potential violations of the law that marked these election schemes include forgery of public records, falsely assuming to act as a public officer, simulating legal process, and more, and these possible violations of relevant laws include felony offenses. Those behind this new push for accountability for those involved in the fake electoral vote scheme are lead attorneys at a group called Law Forward; the attorneys, Jeffrey Mandell and Mel Barnes, wrote to Ozanne that they “respectfully suggest that it is within the duties of your office to promptly investigate and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law the apparently felonious acts described here,” adding as follows:
‘What is most important is that the unbridled and unlawful attacks perpetrated… against the fundamental precepts of American democracy, both here in Wisconsin and more broadly, never recur. Unfortunately, developments over the past year clearly establish that the only way to ensure that these attacks do not recur—or worse, become a routine part of our presidential election cycle—is to hold the fraudulent electors and anyone else responsible for their conduct accountable. We are determined to see that happen.’
New: Supreme Court just formally denied cert to Trump over the National Archives case to release his White House documents to the Jan. 6 select committee https://t.co/wZ9OWYl3uY
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) February 22, 2022
There was also a push for the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office to handle the issue, but they essentially declined. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Westphal informed Mandell of that office’s conclusion that state or federal authorities would be better suited to wading into the controversy, explaining that the Milwaukee County team had “already consulted with the Wisconsin [Department of Justice] to discuss these matters” and 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) stated that he thinks it’s “critical that the federal government fully investigates and prosecutes any unlawful actions in furtherance of any seditious conspiracy.” The House committee investigating the Capitol riot has also taken notice; they’ve subpoenaed two individuals from each of the seven states’ groups of false electors, and the panel later subpoenaed other individuals tied to the scheme. Examples include Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), who worked on the effort in his state.
The U.S. Supreme Court has formally rejected Trump's effort to block the release of White House records to the Jan. 6 Select Committee.https://t.co/OGtThDpdms
— Jan Wolfe (@JanNWolfe) February 22, 2022
