Dem
51
GOP
49
While we are on the subject of otherwise minor factors that could become major factors, consider this: In four swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada—prosecutors are openly at work investigating, indicting, or prosecuting the 2020 fake electors. In several others, including Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Wisconsin, they are looking into their options.
So how does this affect Donald Trump? Well, three of the indicted fake electors in Georgia—Cathleen Latham, Shawn Still, and David Shafer—have argued in court filings that they acted "at the direction of" Donald Trump. They are apparently thinking that Trump-friendly jurors will vote to acquit them if the jurors come to believe the accused were merely following (Trump's) orders. The problem is that Special Counsel Jack Smith can subpoena them to appear in the insurrection trial in D.C. He needs to prove that Trump intentionally tried to overthrow the government and this kind of testimony could help his case.
The day after the 2020 election, Nevada fake elector Michael McDonald, who is also the chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, took part in a phone call with Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and others. McDonald later wrote: "They want full attack mode." McDonald could clearly provide evidence that Trump knew exactly what he was doing, wanted a riot on Jan. 6, and had a well-thought-out plan to subvert the election. These are things Smith needs to prove.
Arizona is also going to be a problem. There Trump and Giuliani pushed then-House Speaker Rusty Bowers to support the fake-elector scheme but Bowers demanded proof that there was fraud first. Giuliani told him: "We've got lots of theories, we just don't have the evidence." Bowers heard this first hand and so might be called on as a witness in the D.C. trial.
In Michigan, the 16 fake electors have already been indicted for fraud. Will all of them volunteer to go to prison to save Trump or will some of them flip? Time will tell. The office of the attorney general of Pennsylvania declined to comment when asked if it was pursuing the state's fake electors. The Wisconsin AG's office was also mum when asked.
In any event, what we have here is something of a double whammy. The fake electors could help turn citizen Trump into convict Trump. Meanwhile, with stories about the scheme in the headlines, some swing-state voters could be motivated to vote against Trump, just because they don't like the thought of him trying to subvert their votes. (V)