The Jan. 6 Committee on Friday issued subpoenas to fourteen people who sought to act as supposed alternate electors for Trump in 2020.
The subpoenas go after a quixotic plot by Trump backers to submit fake slates of Electoral College votes — certificates and all — from states across the country.
When Jan. 6 came around, the thinking went, Vice President Mike Pence could select the “real,” Trump-supporting slates of electors — who were ready with fake certificates.
In a statement, panel co-chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said that the fake ballots came as part of the broader attempt in late 2020 to subvert the elections.
“We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme,” he said.
In a subpoena to Kathy Berden, a fake Michigan elector, the panel notes that the alternate slates were used as a justification to delay the certification of Biden’s win on Jan. 6. The panel, in the subpoenas, said it wants to know more about the scheme, including how the votes were transmitted to Congress and who coordinated the plans.
“For example, according to documents sent to the National Archives, you were a purported Electoral College elector who met with other purported electors on or about December 14, 2020 to cast votes for former President Trump and former Vice President Pence despite the fact that your state had made a final determination that Joseph Biden, Jr. and Kamala Harris were the winners of the November 2020 presidential election and the appointment of their electors had been certified,” the subpoena reads.
The panel sent subpoenas to fake electors from Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Per the committee, the panel sent subpoenas to each chairperson and each secretary from the groups of fake electors.The list of those who received subpoenas is below:
Nancy Cottle, Chairperson, Arizona
Loraine B. Pellegrino, Secretary, Arizona
David Shafer, Chairperson, Georgia
Shawn Still, Secretary, Georgia
Kathy Berden, Chairperson, Michigan
Mayra Rodriguez, Secretary, Michigan
Jewll Powdrell, Chairperson, New Mexico
Deborah W. Maestas, Secretary, New Mexico
Michael J. McDonald, Chairperson, Nevada
James DeGraffenreid, Secretary, Nevada
Bill Bachenberg, Chairperson, Pennsylvania
Lisa Patton, Secretary, Pennsylvania
Andrew Hitt, Chairperson, Wisconsin
Kelly Ruh, Secretary, Wisconsin
