Trump is unindicted co-conspirator in 2020 Michigan fake electors probe, investigator testifies
By Marshall Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — Former President Donald Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Michigan attorney general’s probe into the attempts to overturn the 2020 election in that state, an investigator testified Wednesday.
The investigator also said the list of unindicted co-conspirators includes ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis.
The revelations came at a pretrial hearing in Lansing for some of Michigan’s fake electors, who have been charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in her investigation into the attempts to subvert the 2020 election.
Nessel, a Democrat, charged 16 fake Republican electors from Michigan last summer. CNN reported in December that the investigation was ongoing and appeared to be expanding. One of those charged already agreed to cooperate with Nessel’s prosecutors, in exchange for the charges being dropped. The remaining 15 defendants have all pleaded not guilty.
Special agent Howard Shock, one of the lead investigators in Nessel’s probe, was asked Wednesday in court by a defense attorney for one of the fake electors to confirm whether specific people are co-conspirators. Shock answered “yes” when the lawyer asked about Trump, Meadows, Giuliani and Ellis.
Trump, Giuliani, Meadows and Ellis aren’t facing charges in Michigan. They were all indicted in Georgia’s sweeping 2020 election interference case. Ellis pleaded guilty in that case last year; the others deny wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the revelation. CNN is reaching out to attorneys representing Trump, Meadows and Ellis.
A spokesman for Giuliani, Ted Goodman, said in a statement that “the continued weaponization of our justice system should concern all Michiganders and Americans.”
The state-level investigation has focused intensely on the actions of the individual fake electors, who were charged with felonies last summer. But since then, there have been some indications that prosecutors were looking at the broader Trump-backed attempts to overturn the results in Michigan, where he lost by about 155,000.
Investigators in December interviewed pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who played a leading role in the fake electors plot. CNN previously reported that investigators asked him about Trump, Giuliani, and Trump campaign operatives, inquiring about how they factored into the attempts to interfere with the results in Michigan and beyond.
Indictments over fake electors scheme in Arizona
The Trump campaign had a seven-state scheme to subvert the Electoral College process after he lost the 2020 election, and prosecutors in several states have pursued charges against fake electors.
CNN reported later Wednesday that a grand jury in Arizona had handed up an indictment against Trump’s allies over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, including the fake electors from that state and several individuals connected to his campaign.
Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who remains one of Trump’s closest advisers; Meadows; and Giuliani are among those who have been indicted, according to a source familiar with the investigation. CNN is reaching out to those charged for comment.
While Trump is not among those charged in Arizona, the details in the indictment suggest he is “Unindicted Coconspirator 1.”
State prosecutors in Michigan, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada have now charged at least some of the fake electors in their states. An investigation is still underway in Wisconsin. Prosecutors in New Mexico and Pennsylvania have declined to bring charges.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
