Newly Released Memo Reveals Trump Campaign’s Plot to Subvert Electoral College
Washington, CNN — An internal memo from the Trump campaign dated December 2020 has recently been made public, shedding light on the campaign’s plan to undermine the Electoral College process after losing the 2020 presidential election. The New York Times obtained and released the memo, which outlines how the campaign intended to install fake GOP electors in multiple states.
Authored by pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, the memo proposed putting forth slates of Republican electors in seven key swing states that former President Donald Trump had lost. The plan also suggested that then-Vice President Mike Pence, as the President of the Senate presiding over the Electoral College certification, should declare his constitutional power and duty to open and count the votes from the GOP electors.
Chesebro acknowledged in the memo that the idea was controversial and likely to be rejected by the Supreme Court. However, he argued that pursuing such a strategy would draw public attention to the Democrats’ alleged electoral abuses and provide the Trump campaign with more time to win litigation that would potentially deprive Joe Biden of electoral votes.
The scheme to install fake electors became a central part of the recent federal indictment against Trump. The indictment alleges that the plot took shape after it became clear that efforts to convince state officials not to certify Biden’s victories would be unsuccessful.
Previous reporting by CNN revealed that the scheme was overseen by Trump campaign officials and led by Rudy Giuliani. Chesebro, the author of the memo, is an unindicted co-conspirator in Trump’s indictment. CNN reported that planning calls between Trump campaign officials and GOP state operatives took place, with Giuliani participating in at least one call. The campaign arranged for supporters to fill elector slots, secured meeting rooms for the fake electors, and circulated drafts of fake certificates that were later signed.
Initially dismissed as political cosplay, it eventually became evident that the actions were part of a coordinated plan with the goal of substituting legitimate electors with fake ones. The indictment states that the submission of fraudulent slates would create a fake controversy during the certification proceeding and position Vice President Pence to certify Trump as president.
Prosecutors allege that Chesebro informed Giuliani that state-level operatives warned that it could appear treasonous for Arizona electors to vote if there were no pending court proceedings.
While Chesebro acknowledged that the plan was bold and controversial, he maintained the importance of preserving it as a possibility. Ultimately, on December 14, 2020, the Trump-Pence electors cast their electoral votes.
Some of the fake GOP electors who signed the phony certificates are now facing legal repercussions. The fake electors from Michigan are facing state-level felony charges, including forgery and publishing a counterfeit record. Additionally, many of the fake electors from Georgia are under investigation in Fulton County’s criminal probe related to the 2020 election.
The release of this memo provides further insight into the Trump campaign’s efforts to subvert the Electoral College process following their loss in the 2020 presidential election. As investigations and legal proceedings continue, the repercussions of these actions might extend beyond the original plan.