Lawyers for Donald Trump's co-defendants argued Friday that the state has no power to bring charges against them for being fake electors, USA Today reported.
According to the legal team, the fake electors cannot be tried by the state because such a matter, according to the Constitution, should be resolved by Congress. But Fulton County prosecutors say states have always monitored how elections are handled at the local level.
Trump and 18 co-defendants have been charged with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election — though four of his co-defendants have since pleaded guilty. Trump and the three charged as fake electors have pleaded not guilty.
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"The fake electors argued they met Dec. 14, 2020, at the same time as legitimate presidential electors, to preserve Trump’s options if he won pending legal challenges over voting disputes. But Gov. Brian Kemp certified the Democratic slate of electors for Congress to count on Jan. 6, 2021, as part of certifying Biden as president," USA Today's report stated.
Fake elector David Shafer’s lawyers, Craig Gillen and Holly Anne Pierson, "Argued that federal law required all disputes about electors to be resolved by Dec. 8, 2020, or Congress could decide which electors to recognize. A lawsuit was still pending at that point challenging the results," reported USA Today.
Read the full report over at USA Today.
