Former President Donald Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and his once personal attorney Rudy Giuliani have been implicated as “unindicted co-conspirators” in a scheme involving fake electors in Michigan during the 2020 presidential election, according to courtroom testimony.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel brought criminal charges against 16 individuals last July for falsely declaring that Trump had won the election, despite Joe Biden’s victory. At a preliminary hearing, defense attorney Duane Silverthorn named Trump, Meadows, and Giuliani as co-conspirators in the scheme, which was confirmed by a state investigator.
In response to the allegations, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung claimed that the former president is being targeted in “witch hunts” by Biden and his allies. Similarly, a spokesperson for Giuliani dismissed the allegations as a weaponization of the justice system.
In a separate case in Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Trump, Giuliani, and others in connection to a fake electors scheme. Meadows also faces charges in the Georgia election interference case.
The Michigan case involves 15 individuals facing eight felony counts, including election law forgery and conspiracy. Nessel alleges that the group met covertly to sign false certificates claiming to be the duly elected electors for the state of Michigan, in an effort to manipulate the electoral votes.
This development comes as Trump is currently on trial in New York for falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The legal troubles facing the former president and his associates continue to unfold as investigations into election interference persist.