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The indictment of former President Trump has brought with it renewed scrutiny on perhaps one of the most significant components of his and his allies’ scheme to overturn the 2020 election: the fake electors plot.
- The New York Times reported on a previously unknown memo sent by lawyer Kenneth Chesebro (referred to in the indictment as Co-Conspirator 5) outlining the strategy. “In mid-December,” the Times explained, “the false Trump electors could go through the motions of voting as if they had the authority to do so. Then, on Jan. 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence could unilaterally count those slates of votes, rather than the official and certified ones for Mr. Biden.”
- Those involved in the fake-electors plot raised concerns about its legality, as the Washington Post highlighted this week, leading to the inclusion of hedging language in Pennsylvania’s and New Mexico’s false slates. “Legal experts said proving that Trump and his co-conspirators were lying when they said the electors were meeting just in case will be a central challenge of winning a conviction,” the Post wrote.
- In 2021, American Oversight obtained and published copies of the seven false certificates, documenting the involvement of the Trump backers who fraudulently signed them.
One of the fake electors in Wisconsin was Robert Spindell, a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
- We obtained emails that suggest that Spindell was in touch with the State Assembly’s partisan election investigation, led by attorney Michael Gableman before his firing last summer.
- Last week, a Wisconsin judge ordered the state elections commission to release all records related to Spindell and comments he made about the fake electors plot, as part of a lawsuit brought by Law Forward.
Of course, even after the fake-electors scheme failed to undo Trump’s election loss, the efforts to sow distrust in the results continued, not just in the form of partisan investigations and “audits,” but also in alleged attempts to illegally access voting equipment, including in Michigan.
- Last week, three allies of the former president — Matthew DePerno, Stefanie Lambert, and Daire Rendon — were charged with crimes for their involvement in the alleged scheme that took place in early 2021 in which conservative activists got a hold of vote tabulators from three counties and ran “tests” on the machines in a bid to find proof of voter fraud.
- Once again, American Oversight has obtained evidence documenting apparent elements of the effort as it unfolded. The files include records from Cyber Ninjas — the firm behind the discredited Arizona “audit” — in which CEO Doug Logan discusses the voting machine breach with Lambert and other activists. On March 18, 2021, Logan texted Lambert, “I created a new group with Ben [Cotton], Matt [DePerno], you and I.”
- That same day, Logan texted Ben Cotton of the firm CyFIR: “The MI team has gotten access to another tabulator & [ballot marking device]. They’re asking if we can have someone there tonight to start a data extraction from the two devices as early as tomorrow morning.”
- Logan provided more details about the devices and added, “The equipment is in the greater Detroit area.” According to the records we obtained, Logan and Cotton arranged flights to Detroit and arrived the next day.
On the Records
DeSantis’ New Chief of Staff Alex Kelly
Florida Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly will reportedly become Gov. Ron DeSantis’s new chief of staff, replacing James Uthmeier, who is joining the governor’s presidential campaign.
- We obtained emails between Kelly and Esther Byrd, a member of the State Board of Education. Byrd’s appointment to the board drew criticism thanks to her past vocal defense of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
- In an April 2022 email, Byrd asked Kelly if it was possible for the state to challenge a federal law she believed prohibited tracking “students attending our public schools [who] are illegal immigrants.” Kelly said that he wasn’t aware of such a law, adding that federal law required children to be served in public schools regardless of their immigration status so there would be “no perceived benefit to asking for that data.” The two scheduled a call to discuss that question and other issues.
- Another set of records from the same month show that Kelly forwarded to two staffers an email from the Florida Citizens Alliance that contained complaints about Manatee County’s African American History Task Force curriculum. The complaints cited racist arguments about the existence of white European slaves as a way of minimizing the U.S.’s history of racial slavery and said that the task force should not “single out the USA as being ‘especially egregious’ in regards to slavery.”
Other Stories We're Following
Election Denial and Threats to Democracy
- Arizona 'audit' leader wants texts with Michigan lawyer indicted over voting machines to stay secret (Arizona Republic)
- Cochise County may contract with Authentix for ballot security after push from Mark Finchem (Votebeat)
- Arizona Republicans wanted to hand-count ballots. Then they saw the price tag — and the errors (NBC News)
- Wisconsin election official’s GOP roots mean nothing in volatile new climate (ProPublica)
- Virginia becomes eighth U.S. state to exit voter data-sharing pact ERIC (Reuters)
- DeSantis can’t find enough employees for his voter fraud crackdown (The Intercept)
- Tennessee puts voting rights at the whims of state officials (Bolts)
In the States
- DeSantis super PAC shares cost for private air travel in unusual deal (Washington Post)
- Florida State Guard's $10 million headquarters to include gun range, offices and more (Miami Herald)
- DeSantis suspends a second elected Florida prosecutor (Miami Herald)
- Arizona universities drop use of diversity, equity and inclusion statements in job applications (Arizona Republic)
- How Texas AG office fueled conservative federal judge pathway (Texas Tribune)
- Jay Ashcroft is sued over Missouri’s new ‘anti-woke’ investment rules (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
National News
- Justice Clarence Thomas’s $267,230 RV and the friend who financed it (New York Times)
- The other billionaires who helped Clarence Thomas live a luxe life (ProPublica)
- EPA approved Chevron fuel ingredient with sky-high cancer risk (ProPublica)
- The kingmaking Trump ally behind a cadre of rightwing judges (Guardian)
Civil Rights
- Ron DeSantis tries to erase trans people from Florida schools (Slate)
- Florida schools try to adapt to new rules on gender, bathrooms and pronouns (New York Times)
- In a win for abortion-rights supporters, Ohio voters reject Issue 1 (NBC News)
- Idaho educators file federal lawsuit over ‘no public funds for abortion’ law (Idaho Capital Sun)
- How a trial in Texas changed the story of abortion rights in America (NPR)
- Arizona coalition launches effort to get abortion rights on the ballot (Washington Post)
- GOP legislators file lawsuit challenging cost estimate of Missouri abortion-rights amendment (Missouri Independent)
- Texas AG appeals judge’s order that allows women with complicated pregnancies to get abortions (Texas Tribune)
- Iowa has a shortage of OB-GYN doctors. The new abortion ban could make that worse (Des Moines Register)
- Montana voters rejected an anti-abortion measure. GOP lawmakers passed a similar bill anyway (Montana Free Press)
- 33 officer arrests in 3 years: Sheriff asks 'What are we doing wrong?' (NBC News)
- “A place of torment”: 22 families, former inmates sue Harris County over jail conditions (Texas Tribune)
Threats to Education
- Florida says AP psychology course meets state law as-is (Tampa Bay Times)
- New College interviews presidential finalists, starts eliminating gender-studies program (Miami Herald)
- Federal grand jury investigates bid-rigging in DeSantis' education department (Miami Herald)
- Hillsborough schools cut back on Shakespeare, citing new Florida rules (Tampa Bay Times)
- Videos denying climate science approved by Florida as state curriculum (Guardian)
- Texas A&M leaders’ messages show desire to counter perceived liberal bias (Texas Tribune)
- Conservative group pushes religious books while seeking to ban others (Texas Observer)
- To use Spotsylvania, VA’s school communication portal, parents must decide kids’ ‘explicit material’ access in libraries (NBC)
- Botetourt, Va., County Board of Supervisors passes resolution for anyone under 18 to be with a parent at the library (WSLS)
Immigration
- Eagle Pass residents sour on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star (Texas Tribune)
- Up-close look at Gov. Greg Abbott’s floating wall in the Rio Grande (Texas Public Radio)
- Ron DeSantis’ Key West anti-migrant missions raised pilot safety concerns (NBC News)
- A month after new Florida immigration laws took effect, advocates report rising in fear, confusion (Orlando Sentinel)
- Massachusetts governor declares state of emergency amid influx of migrants seeking shelter (Associated Press)
- Killing of Native American man stirs anger at Border Patrol (New York Times)
- House conservatives threaten to shut down Homeland Security (Bloomberg)
Trump Accountability
- John Eastman, awaiting potential indictment, asks judge to postpone his disbarment proceedings (Politico)
- Previously secret memo laid out strategy for Trump to overturn Biden’s win (New York Times)
- Special counsel obtained search warrant for Donald Trump’s Twitter account (Politico)
- ‘Co-Conspirator 5’: Ken Chesebro and the evolution of Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 strategy (Politico)
- Indictment shows White House lawyers struggling for control as Trump fought to overturn election (Associated Press)
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