January 6: Special Counsel Jack Smith Subpoenas Local Election Officials, Investigates Donald Trump's Fake Electors Scheme
Special counsel Jack Smith has already started his work in investigating former President Donald Trump's attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections on January 6, 2021. He is now taking a look at Trump's fake electors scheme and has subpoenaed several local election officials.
The Washington Post has reported that Special Counsel Jack Smith has now issued subpoenas for the top election officials in Wayne County, Michigan; as well as Milwaukee and Dane counties, Wisconsin; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. These counties are where some of the largest cities in the United States are found, including Detroit, Milwaukee, Madison, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh.
The subpoenas indicate that Smith is now probing into one of the aspects of Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election results, and that is the scheme to install fake electors to vote for him and hand him the elections, even though he lost those states.
Jack Smith Asking County Election Officials for Any Records of Communication Involving Donald Trump
Several county election officials have confirmed that subpoenas have been sent to them. This includes Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson, who confirmed to NBC News that the subpoena was issued on November 22, 2022, and that it was asking for "Any and all records of communications with or involving Trump, his campaign."
The subpoena was not just about Trump. It also involves a list of 19 aides and allies. These include campaign attorneys as well as other Trump lawyers who have worked closely to try and overturn the 2020 election results. Among those named are Justin Clark, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Victoria Toensing, John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, and Jenna Ellis. Also named was the Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien.
The subpoena seeks the communications between county election officials and the above-mentioned Trump allies from June 1, 2020, to January 20, 2021.
One of the Trump lawyers named in the subpoena, Bruce Marks, told NBC News that he did not hear that he was included in the list, but called it a "gross overreach."
"They are seeking clearly privileged communications between me and other attorneys who were involved with the Trump campaign," he stated.
Donald Trump's Fake Electors Scheme Explained
In the lead-up to the January 6 Capitol insurrection, Donald Trump and his allies hatched a plan so that he could stay in power. While the most covered aspect is the January 6 riot at the Capitol, one of the most brazen was their plot to install fake electors to vote for Trump.
As suggested by the subpoenas, the scheme involved some of Trump's lawyers, as well as state Republican officials and White House aides. It began before some of these swing states even finished counting their ballots and culminated in Trump's pressure campaign to force then-Vice President Mike Pence to use false slates by these false electors to subvert congressional certification of the election results.
According to the New York Times, the fake electors scheme targeted several swing states, namely Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. They intended to persuade Republican officials in these said states to have fake electors declare Trump the winner of their state.
This is all to overturn Biden's victory in those states as soon as they establish their claims of widespread voting fraud, therefore having an "alternate" slate of electors in place when that happens. However, it never did and now Jack Smith is investigating them for this plot.
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Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: WaPo: Special Counsel Subpoenas Local Officials In Trump Investigation - MSNBC