Two days before the January 6 insurrection, the Trump campaign’s plan to use fake electors to block President-elect Joe Biden from taking office faced a potentially crippling hiccup: The fake elector certificates from two critical battleground states were stuck in the mail.

So, Trump campaign operatives scrambled to fly copies of the phony certificates from Michigan and Wisconsin to the nation’s capital, relying on a haphazard chain of couriers, as well as help from two Republicans in Congress, to try to get the documents to then-Vice President Mike Pence while he presided over the Electoral College certification.

The operatives even considered chartering a jet to ensure the files reached Washington, DC, in time for the January 6, 2021, proceeding, according to emails and recordings obtained by CNN.

The new details provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the chaotic last-minute effort to keep Donald Trump in office. The fake electors scheme features prominently in special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal indictment against the former president, and some of the officials who were involved have spoken to Smith’s investigators.

  • LeadersAtWork
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    5711 months ago

    Everyone keeps talking about how Biden will likely win against Trump. I don’t disagree. Most of my concern is if Trump is allowed to run just how much more brazen him and his team will be.

    Not to mention how dangerous his supporters may become. Cults aren’t known for their logical and clear understanding.

    • @Euphorazine@lemmy.world
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      1211 months ago

      The worst part, is the states that have proposed blocking trump from the ballot aren’t really swing states, so it will just embolden his supporters if he wins to be like “they tried to cheat and still lost!”

      Like, a state like Tennessee could not include Biden on the ballots and it wouldn’t change the outcome of the presidential election with how the electoral college votes are calculated.

    • @Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      411 months ago

      Sure but this time the National Guard’s reins aren’t held by someone hoping it succeeds. They’re going to need a lot more violence to get past security this time.

    • @lennybird@lemmy.world
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      311 months ago

      The cult failed even when Trump had power from within the White House and a corrupt US Attorney General. Much harder now when everyone is on guard and he has no executive power, fortunately.

      2020 was far more risky than 2024 in my opinion.