The latest fallout of Donald Trump’s election lies arrived Wednesday, with prosecutors in Michigan revealing that the former president, along with his onetime Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, and his former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, are unindicted co-conspirators in the criminal case concerning the state’s false elector plot which sought to overturn the state’s presidential election results in 2020.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 16 Republicans with forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery for allegedly attempting to swap Michigan’s electoral votes from Joe Biden to Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Michigan special investigator Howard Shock subtly revealed Wednesday that Trump was a co-conspirator, answering “yes” when asked by a defendant’s attorney if the ex-president was considered to be one.
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Shock answered the same for Meadows, Giuliani, and Jenna Ellis, another former attorney for the Trump campaign. That quartet were all part of last year’s sweeping indictment in Fulton County, Georgia, which is also related to their attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The designation means Trump and his pals likely won’t face criminal charges in the state, but are officially suspected to have been involved in the scheme.
Those who are charged, however, are staring down prison sentences that could span as long as 14 years if convicted. Their defense attorneys have argued that the suspects had no clue they were illegally signing a document in favor of flipping Michigan’s election results, adding that Trump campaign advisers organized the false certificate, The Detroit News reported.
Trump lost Michigan by more than 150,000 votes in 2020.
Other notable names identified Wednesday as co-conspirators included Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox and the state legislature’s former House Speaker Tom Leonard and his wife, Jenell.
Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, criticized Michigan prosecutors for roping the former New York City mayor into the case.
“The continued weaponization of our justice system should concern all Michiganders and Americans,” Goodman said.
Trump’s allies reportedly came up with a seven-state scheme to subvert the Electoral College and turn the election in his favor, in which Michigan played a crucial role.
Michigan, Georgia, and Nevada have all charged at least some of those who participated in their respective fake elector schemes, while investigations are ongoing in Arizona and Wisconsin. Prosecutors in New Mexico and Pennsylvania announced they would not bring charges on the matter.
