Nevada’s 6 ‘fake electors’ plead not guilty

Six Nevada Republicans who submitted false electoral documents in the 2020 election pleaded not guilty Monday in Clark County to charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering forged instruments for forgery.

Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Law, Republican National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid, Nevada Republican Party Vice Chair Jim Hindle, Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice all made appearances online for their arraignment Monday morning.

With District Judge Mary Kay Holthus presiding, the two parties set a jury date for March 11, about three months after Attorney General Aaron Ford announced the indictment of the six Nevadans.

‘Political prosecution’

Attorney Richard Wright, representing McDonald and other electors, compared the case to that of former Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who had been accused of misappropriating fees earned by the Nevada College State Trust Fund. His charges were dismissed in 2009 and were criticized as a political prosecution by his defenders.

“Fifteen years pass by and nothing changes,” Wright said in an email. “This belated indictment of these six patriotic Nevadans by AG Ford has the hallmarks of a political prosecution. Despite his protestations, it doesn’t pass the Duck Test.”

After the 2020 election, the six electors gathered outside of the Nevada Legislature to sign a certificate giving the state’s electoral votes to Trump — despite Joe Biden winning the Silver State by more than 30,000 votes. The document titled “Certificate of the Votes of the 2020 Electors from Nevada” was sent to the president of the Senate, the archivist of the U.S., the Nevada secretary of state; and the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, according to the office of the attorney general.

Nevada’s real electors, however, cast their Electoral College votes remotely, with then- Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske presiding, awarding the six votes to Biden. Both Cegavske and then-Gov. Steve Sisolak signed the documents.

False 2020 Certificates by Jessica Hill on Scribd

Real 2020 Certificate by Jessica Hill on Scribd

Republicans in other battleground states submitted similar documents, allegedly as part of a larger Trump-backed strategy across the country to keep the 45th president in power. Attorneys general in those other states pursued charges such as forgery, racketeering or making false statements. Michigan’s attorney general, for instance, pressed felony charges in July, and Georgia’s fake electors were indicted in August.

Democratic Attorney General Ford, who had kept his cards close to his chest about what action he would take, said last week during a press conference that the investigation into the electors had been ongoing for years, and his prosecutors and investigators worked diligently to gather the facts and evidence necessary to support the charges.

Transcripts

Grand jury transcripts made public Sunday revealed some of the evidence used in the case, such as video footage posted on social media of the electors signing the documents, as well as the certificates with the electors’ signatures.

Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who helped organize the Trump campaign’s “fake electors” plan, testified before the grand jury in the exchange of not being prosecuted by the Nevada attorney general’s office. He talked about memos he sent regarding the process of submitting votes in favor of Trump, as well as drafts of the electoral certificates he sent to DeGraffenreid, McDonald and Law.

In one memo, he wrote, “Nevada is an extremely problematic state, because it requires the meeting of the electors to be overseen by the Secretary of State, who is only supposed to permit electoral votes for the winner of the popular vote in Nevada,” according to the transcripts.

Chesebro conveyed the request of the Trump campaign that the Nevada electors assemble and have alternate electors on Dec. 14, 2020 to preserve the ability to win litigation and have the votes counted on Jan. 6, 2021 in favor of Trump, according to the transcripts.

During Monday’s court hearing, Holthus disclosed that her cousin was at one point married to Robert Langford, Chesebro’s attorney. Holthus, according to voter rolls, is a registered Republican. She was also on the Nevada Republican Party’s 2020 “Republican Victory Slate.”

In October, Chesebro pleaded guilty to a felony in Georgia in connection with efforts to to overturn the 2020 election.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.