Former President Donald Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani have been implicated as unindicted co-conspirators in the Michigan attorney general’s case against the state’s so-called “fake electors” in the 2020 election. The revelation came during a preliminary examination hearing on Wednesday, where a state investigator testified that former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis is also an unindicted co-conspirator.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 16 Republicans last year with forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery for allegedly attempting to replace Michigan’s electoral votes for Joe Biden with electoral votes for Trump at the certification of the vote on January 6, 2021. During Wednesday’s hearing, Howard Shock, a special agent for the attorney general’s office, testified that Trump, Meadows, Giuliani, and Ellis are all unindicted co-conspirators in the case.
Shock’s revelation was in response to questions from Duane Silverthorn, an attorney for Michele Lundgren, one of the so-called fake electors. “Finally, former President Donald Trump?” asked Silverthorn. “Yes,” Shock testified.
Nessel dismissed the charges against one of the alleged fake electors in October in exchange for cooperating with the case. The state is still pursuing charges against the other 15 defendants. All the defendants have pleaded not guilty.
The identification of Trump, Meadows, Giuliani, and Ellis as unindicted co-conspirators is a significant development in the Michigan attorney general’s case. It suggests that the investigation is expanding beyond the 16 defendants who have been charged so far and that the state may be considering bringing charges against higher-level individuals involved in the alleged scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
