An Arizona grand jury last week found 11 fake electors and seven of their associates and attorneys involved in conspiracy and fraud in Donald Trump's attempt to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. , charged with forgery. Trump was included as an unindicted co-conspirator. Arizona joins Georgia, Michigan and Nevada in holding politicians accountable for trying to replace Biden's legitimate electors.
You may be wondering: Are these Trump coup cases really necessary? yes. There are four main reasons:
Anyone who participates in a scheme to interfere with elections and deprive state voters of their right to choose will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. No matter the state, such a person should not be in a position of trust.
For example, the Post reported that Arizona Republican Party Chair Kerry Ward is accused of orchestrating a conspiracy along with two state senators to sow doubts about the election and create a false electoral roll. Reporting.
The indictment alleges that pro-Trump electors “made statements that directly contradicted the intent that their votes would only be used in the event of a successful legal challenge to change the outcome of Arizona's election.” The indictment also includes images of Ward's social media posts, which prosecutors say prove “her purpose was to have the Arizona Legislature certify the fake Republican electoral votes.” said.
The indictment says Ward continued to press the state Legislature to change the election results until January 6, 2021. [Tyler] Mr. Bowyer issued a public statement “indicating that the contingency plan is a cover for his attempt to change the outcome of the election.” Other electors tried to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to delay certification or recertify Biden's electors, according to the indictment.
Anyone involved in such skullduggery must be held accountable.
Laurie Roberts wrote in a column for the Arizona Republic that the facts outlined in the indictment “rang from the seeds of doubt planted deeply to undermine confidence in our elections to the fake electors who participated. , making a convincing argument that it amounts to “a carefully planned plan”. It depicts a plan to steal votes in Arizona and other battleground states and storm the Capitol to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president. ” The electors did not pretend to be “reserve” in case their votes were overturned. “They simply signed a document declaring themselves 'duly elected and qualified electors' and voting for whoever did not win,” Roberts wrote. “It's about time they had to answer for that.'' The indictment serves its purpose well.
Legal analysts say Kenneth Chesebro has pleaded guilty in Georgia and cooperated with investigations in Nevada and Michigan, although a lawsuit filed in Wisconsin has raised questions about his veracity. ) is not named in the Arizona lawsuit. They speculate that he may cooperate again. As the charges pile up against him and Trump's associates and lawyers, pressure will mount to cooperate with information about Trump and his inner circle, including Mark Meadows and John Eastman. With the first indictments of people like Boris Epshteyn and Christina Bobb, prosecutors may find new allies.
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State cases are not eligible for presidential pardons. Therefore, an agreement with prosecutors may be the only sure way to avoid prosecution and conviction, which carries the risk of significant prison sentences. Many of Trump's supporters appear to be seeking presidential pardons in federal cases, but Trump would be of no use if they were found guilty of state crimes. Therefore, indictments in Arizona and other states may be the most effective means of uncovering evidence of President Trump's guilt.
If we've learned anything from the four criminal cases against Trump and other charges filed against state officials, it's that criminal prosecutions can be long, complex, and fraught with unexpected twists and turns. That means there is. Georgia was once seen as the perfect case to block special prosecutor Jack Smith's federal prosecution, but with a huge number of defendants, complex racketeering charges and the weight of controversy surrounding Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis. I'm stuck with this. The case may not go to trial for years. You can never have enough insurance against well-funded and recalcitrant defendants who insist on delaying, obfuscating, and delegitimizing the justice system.
The Arizona case likely won't go to trial until 2025. But equally, even if President Trump were to win in November, that would not stop the lawsuit against the named defendants from proceeding. Either way, the public will get a compelling picture of the attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Immediately after the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, Grant Tudor and Ian Bassin wrote an op-ed for the Atlantic warning that the perpetrators should not go unpunished. “Bad actors maintain or regain power and repeat their past crimes. An audacious culture of impunity encourages those who would commit illegal acts to go after them,” they said. insisted. “And public trust in democratic institutions will further decline, leading people to seek more authoritarian options.”
This is especially true now that Trump is the front-runner and the 2024 presidential election is just months away. President Trump has already made strides to claim that the election was fraudulent. (Mr. Trump and his surrogates have falsely claimed that illegal immigrants are registering to vote.) But as in 2020, Mr. Trump has many supporters at the state and local level. and cannot begin an attempt to overturn an election without the support of a team of lawyers. . Therefore, it has become important to remove from circulation those who have been convicted of illegally helping him in the past, and to persuade other would-be co-conspirators not to attempt new schemes. Without such enablers, Mr. Trump will be powerless to do more than rant about his new electoral defeat.
One indicator that an authoritarian coup is likely to be successful is past attempts that, in hindsight, would look like rehearsals for the main event. Therefore, state and federal prosecutors should take every opportunity to ensure that 2020 is not the first but the last coup attempt in U.S. history.
