Two former federal prosecutors explained on Wednesday how Attorney General Merrick Garland obtained details of the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Dennis Aftergut and Melanie Sloan wrote in Slate how state Attorneys General Dana Nessel (D-MI) and Hector Balderas (D-MN) had made criminal referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice of the Trump supporters who signed fraudulent election documents.
"Those who had a hand in crafting and attempting to submit false certificate of electors may have committed multiple crimes, including forgery and fraud. The actions of these state officials are important steps towards uncovering the scope and depth of the attempted plot to steal the election and keep former President Trump in power," they wrote.
The forged documents may also offer important visual clues.
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"Many of the certificates used the same words and font, as if coordinated and copied from a common template. By contrast, the genuine certificates vary greatly in form, language and look," they wrote. "The [possible] conspiracy to declare these forged documents authentic may have extended all the way into the executive branch. It was no secret that solicitations to create the alternate slates came from the Trump campaign."
The forged electoral college certificates were submitted by 59 Trump supporters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
"The DOJ should take up the referrals of the state attorneys general posthaste," they wrote. "Crucial questions in the fraudulent electoral certificate cases include who was involved in creating and developing the template text and who led the scheme? To former prosecutors, the most obvious entry point to investigating the plot is to question the fraudulent Republican 'electors' whose names are on the certificates. They can almost surely point the way up the chain of command."
The two suggested attorneys John Eastman and Ian Northon and Mike Pence aides Marc Short and Greg Jacobs.
"Nothing will happen on the potentially criminal side of these cases, though, unless someone in the Department of Justice acts. Swiftly and vigorously investigating the fraudulent electoral-slate plot would be a vital step toward accountability of those atop the conspiracy to end 235 years of presidential power transitions under the rule of law," they concluded.
Read the full column.
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