New legal trouble for Donald Trump in even more jurisdictions
Donald Trump already has his hands full with respect to criminal prosecutions, but as the Hill reported, those little hands may soon become fuller. Some of the other swing states have now begun their own investigations into the fake elector scheme. This falls right in line with the release of Mike Pence’s testimony because Trump and John Eastman tried to tell Pence he could use the fake electors to take votes from President Biden to give to Trump. This was an effort in futility. Only a career criminal could have even thought this scheme would work. Thanks to Trump’s machinations, Pence was hunted down like a dog that day and could have been hurt or killed when he had no authority to do anything than preside over the certification.
All the trouble to which Trump, Eastman, and others went tells us something was wrong with what they tried to do. The swing states believe the same, as did Mike Pence who told Trump: “My oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.” Pence had no more than a ceremonial role in the counting of the electoral votes. He couldn’t change them, and he was not about to do try. Even as Pence stood his ground, fake electors in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Nevada, and Wisconsin all claimed that they were the “duly elected” electors when they knew better. Eastman and Trump also knew it was untrue, but they were determined to overturn the results of the election.
Fani Willis decided to take them to task, charging three of Georgia’s fake electors under the RICO Act. According to the Hill, other alternate electors, who have not yet been named, accepted immunity deals before Willis even filed the indictment. The three who remain under indictment, David Shafer (former GOP Chair), Shawn Still (a state senator), and Cathleen Latham (an election official), have all argued that they “acted at the direction” of Donald Trump. Kenneth Chesebro has pled guilty, and he is a direct actor in the fake elector scheme. Chesebro recently petitioned the court to travel to Nevada, Arizona, and Washington, D.C., probably to give evidence of Trump’s nefarious plans. Georgia isn’t the only state that wants to punish people who tried to overturn the election, thereby nullifying our votes.
Nevada AG Aaron Ford is investigating. His state doesn’t have specific laws that address this type of behavior, but in September, he told a Nevada news outlet: “It is not that I’ve said that I can do nothing. What I’ve said, and I’ve been precise with my wording on purpose, is we don’t have statutes in this state that directly address the issue.” He is, however, investigating what he can do under Nevada law, especially since Chesebro was also involved by one of the fake electors in Nevada.
This is a novel issue. We have never had a president who refused to peacefully transfer power. All agree on one thing: Trump needs to be held accountable.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years