Vice
President
Mike
Pence
and
Speaker
Nancy
Pelosi
presiding
over
official
count of
electoral
votes on
Jan. 6,
2021.
(Credit...Erin
Schaff/The
New York
Times) |
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In
January,
White
House
Chief of
Staff
Mark
Meadows,
at
right,
sent
emails
to
then-Deputy
Attorney
General
Jeff
Rosen
that
focused
on false
voter
fraud
claims.
The
email is
one of
several
instances
in which
Meadows
urged
the
Justice
Department
to look
into
voter
fraud
allegations.
(Alex
Wong/Getty
image) |
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Federal
prosecutors
looking
at 2020
fake
elector
certifications,
deputy
attorney
general
tells
CNN
By
Evan
Perez
and
Tierney
Sneed
cnn.com
WASHINGTON
-
Federal
prosecutors
are
reviewing
fake
Electoral
College
certifications
that
declared
former
President
Donald
Trump
the
winner
of
states
that he
lost,
Deputy
Attorney
General
Lisa
Monaco
told CNN
on
Tuesday.
"We've
received
those
referrals.
Our
prosecutors
are
looking
at those
and I
can't
say
anything
more on
ongoing
investigations,"
Monaco
said in
an
exclusive
interview.
The
fake
certificates
falsely
declaring
Trump's
victory
were
sent to
the
National
Archives
by
Trump's
allies
in
mid-December
2020.
They
have
attracted
public
scrutiny
amid the
House's
January
6
investigation
into the
pressure
campaign
that
sought
to
reverse
Trump's
electoral
defeat.
Why
Rudy
Giuliani's
fake
electors
scheme
was so
dangerous
to
democracy
Monaco
did not
go into
detail
about
what
else
prosecutors
are
looking
at from
the
partisan
attempt
to
subvert
the 2020
vote
count.
She said
that,
more
broadly,
the
Justice
Department
was
"going
to
follow
the
facts
and the
law,
wherever
they
lead, to
address
conduct
of any
kind and
at any
level
that is
part of
an
assault
on our
democracy."
This
is the
first
time
that the
Justice
Department
has
commented
on
requests
from
lawmakers
and
state
officials
that it
investigate
the fake
certifications.
The
certificates
contain
the
signatures
of Trump
supporters
who
falsely
claimed
to be
the
rightful
electors
in
Georgia,
Arizona,
Michigan,
Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin,
Nevada
and New
Mexico
-- all
states
that
President
Joe
Biden
had won.
Some of
the
certificates
were
sent by
top
officials
representing
the
Republican
Party in
each
state,
according
to the
documents,
which
were
obtained
and made
public
by the
watchdog
group
American
Oversight.
In
response
to
Monaco's
new
comments,
Wisconsin
Attorney
General
Josh
Kaul
told CNN
in a
statement
that it
was
"critical
that the
federal
government
fully
investigates
and
prosecutes
any
unlawful
actions
in
furtherance
of any
seditious
conspiracy."
New
Mexico
Attorney
General
Hector
Balderas,
a
Democrat,
told CNN
in a
statement
on
Tuesday
that he
is
"pleased
the DOJ
is
looking
into
this
matter,
as these
disturbing
allegations
require
that
federal
authorities
partner
with
state
law
enforcement
agencies
across
the
country
to
ensure
integrity
in the
election
process."
The
New
Mexico
Attorney
General's
office
previously
said it
is
reviewing
the
matter
under
state
law, and
like
other
states,
has
referred
it to
the
Justice
Department
via
their US
attorney's
office.
Donald
Trump's
hands
are all
over the
coup
attempt
"We
have
received
information
from the
New
Mexico
Attorney
General's
office,
but we
can't
comment
on it at
this
time,"
Scott
Howell,
a
spokesman
for the
US
attorney
for New
Mexico,
told CNN
on
Monday.
In
her
interview
with
CNN,
Monaco
also
touted
the
efforts
the
Justice
Department
has made
to
address
the
threats
and
harassment
that
election
officials
have
faced.
"I'm
concerned
about
the
really
disturbing
nature
of the
threats
that
we've
seen.
They've
been
disturbingly
aggressive,
and
violent
and
personal,"
Monaco
said.
She
pointed
to an
indictment
unveiled
by the
Justice
Department
last
week
alleging
that a
Texas
man had
threatened
to kill
Georgia
election
officials.
The
indictment
was the
first to
be
brought
after
the
formation
of a
department
task
force
focused
on the
issue.
"Those
charges
were the
first
coming
out of
that
task
force
but they
will not
be the
last,"
Monaco
said.
This
story
has been
updated
with
additional
information.
CNN's
Marshall
Cohen
and
Zachary
Cohen
contributed
to this
story.
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