Part XI: Indicted Again, Again!! (Steps 876-1008.)

Part XI: Indicted Again – Again!!

(Steps #876 – 1008.) 

__________  

“Trump and the other Defendants charged in the indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.” 

Georgia election fraud indictment.

__________ 

 

AUGUST 14, 2023: Donald Trump breaks the previous record set by a former president for number of criminal indictments.   

He held the previous record at three (3). That record was set on August 1, when Special Prosecutor Jack Smith revealed an indictment against him in the January 6 Insurrection Case. (See: Part IX: “Indicted Again.”)

And the previous record at two (2), set in the Classified Documents Case on June 9. 

And the record for one (1), set when he was indicted in the Hush Money Case, on April 4, 2023. 

He now holds a Cal Ripken-like record unlikely ever to be broken – at four. 

4!!!!

Cal Ripken set the record for most games played in a row.
___ 

 

876. Before we turn to the indictment in Georgia, we should remind readers that all evidence gathered in all these cases, so far, has been gathered with the help of search warrants issued by state and federal judges. Before a judge will issue a warrant, he or she must be convinced that there is “probable cause” that crimes have been committed, or may be committed. 

As for the complaint that Mr. Trump has been indicted in liberal jurisdictions, that’s because his crimes occurred in liberal jurisdictions. He was living in New York City in the fall of 2016, when he and his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, conspired to violate campaign finance laws. Facing an eight-count indictment, in August 2018, Cohen agreed to plead guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison.

 

877. As the Attorney for the United States, Robert Khuzami, explained at the time, “Michael Cohen is a lawyer who, rather than setting an example of respect for the law, instead chose to break the law, repeatedly over many years and in a variety of ways.  His day of reckoning serves as a reminder that we are a nation of laws, with one set of rules that applies equally to everyone.”  

(Had Trump not been president, he would have been indicted in 2018.) 

 

878. At any rate, on August 14, Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis secured another grand jury indictment of former President Donald John Trump. In the English system of justice, grand juries exist to protect defendants from abusive charges leveled against them by vindictive monarchs. 

We copy that system. 

 

This latest indictment includes a host of alleged accomplices: 

A. Rudy Giuliani, Trump lawyer

B. Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff

C. John Eastman, Trump lawyer

D. Kenneth Chesebro, Trump lawyer

E. Jeffrey Clark, top Justice Department official

F. Jenna Ellis, Trump campaign lawyer

G. Robert Cheeley, Georgia lawyer

H. Mike Roman, Trump campaign official

I. David Shafer, Georgia GOP chair and fake elector

J. Shawn Still, fake GOP elector

K. Stephen Lee, pastor

L. Harrison Floyd, leader of Black Voices for Trump

M. Trevian Kutti, publicist

N. Sidney Powell, Trump campaign lawyer

O. Cathy Latham, fake GOP elector

P. Scott Hall, involved in breach of Coffee County election system

Q. Misty Hampton, Coffee County elections supervisor

R. Ray Stallings Smith III, Trump campaign attorney

 

“A,” “C,” “D,” “E” and “N” are listed as unindicted co-conspirators in the federal indictment filed against President Trump, to start the month. (See: Part IX.) 

Chesebro has already agreed to a plea deal in the Georgia case and admitted to a felony. He must now testify truthfully against the other defendants. 

Ellis has taken the same deal.

Ellis smiled for her mugshot.
Later, she wept when her law license was suspended.

 

Powell is third to cop a plea, to six misdemeanors. She must also testify truthfully against the others. 

Hall – same as Powell.

 

Sidney has already admitted she broke the law.

879. In return for immunity, Mark Meadows, “B”, has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the federal indictment against the former president. If you are Mr. Trump, even you know that can’t be good. 

Mike Roman, “H”, has agreed to a plea deal, and is working with investigators in the federal indictment filed on August 1, 2023.

 

880. We also know at least eight “fake electors” have agreed to cooperate with the prosecution in Georgia, and have not been charged This will put immense pressure on other Trump accomplices to turn. 

(There will be a great deal of overlap in regard to indictments #3 and #4.) 

 

BLOGGER’S NOTE: We have counted several of the examples above in previous posts. So we do not number them again. 

We also know that multiple court rulings have slowed the advance of these cases to trial. This does not mean the former president is innocent. It means he can spend millions of dollars on lawyers. 

(Still: Innocent until proven guilty!) 

(But if you’ve been following the facts, you wouldn’t bet on Trump at trial.) 

 

“A conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome.” 

881. Having set the scene, let’s dive into the Georgia indictment. In the “Introduction,” we learn that,

 

Defendant Donald John Trump lost the United States presidential election held on November 3, 2020. One of the states he lost was Georgia. Trump and the other Defendants charged in the indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.

 

That’s really the entire case. Trump lost. Then he and his co-conspirators set out to turn a loss into a “win” through illegal means. This criminal enterprise operated not only in Fulton County but in “Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.” Much of the plotting took place in the District of Columbia. 

 

Counting votes three times didn’t convince conspirators. 

882. The purpose of the conspiracy was clear. Members of this criminal “enterprise” showed up at multiple hearings and told Georgia lawmakers that they could prove fraud during the 2020 election. That is, they lied.

 

The purpose of these false statements was to persuade Georgia legislators to reject lawful electoral votes cast by the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from Georgia. Members of the enterprise corruptly solicited Georgia legislators instead to unlawfully appoint their own presidential electors for the purpose of casting electoral votes for Donald Trump.

 

That’s the beating heart of the indictment, with all other crimes committed in furtherance of that goal.

 

883. As laid out by prosecutors, despite the adamantine fact that votes were counted three times in Georgia – and Trump lost three times, the conspirators set out to overturn fair results. Their goal was to remove sixteen electoral votes from Joseph R. Biden’s winning column. Those votes would be transferred to Donald J. Trump. 

884. “Members of the conspiracy” didn’t just try to steal votes in Georgia. They made multiple “false statements in multiple states.” 

Several defendants and unindicted co-conspirators conspired to create “false Electoral College documents and recruited individuals to convene and cast false Electoral College votes at the Georgia State Capitol, in Fulton County, on December 14, 2020.”

 

The false documents were intended to disrupt and delay the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021, in order to unlawfully change the outcome of the November 3, 2020, presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. (Similar schemes were executed by members of the enterprise in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.) 

(None of the Georgia documents were signed by the governor, as required by law.) 

 

885. Several co-conspirators set out to falsely accuse Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman of committing election crimes. “These false accusations were repeated to Georgia legislators and other Georgia officials in an effort to persuade them to unlawfully change the outcome of the November 3, 2020, presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.”

Freeman and her daughter were overwhelmed by death threats.

 

886. Several members of this criminal enterprise “traveled from out of state to harass Freeman, intimidate her, and solicit her to falsely confess to election crimes that she did not commit.” 

(Harassment also engulfed Freeman’s daughter, “Shaye” Moss.) 

 

“Going down like a shot dog.” 

887. Trump and others “corruptly solicited high ranking United States Department of Justice officials to make false statements to government officials in Fulton County, Georgia, including the Governor, the [Georgia] Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the [Georgia] Senate.” In one instance, the president grew frustrated when Acting United States Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen refused to go along with his plot. “Just say that the election was corrupt, and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen,” he told Rosen. 

 

888. In a meeting on December 21, 2020, several Republican members of Congress met with Mr. Trump to game out ways to overturn the voting results. They included: 

Rep. Brian Babin of Texas. 

Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona. 

Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama. (Rep. Brooks will eventually admit that even after the riot on January 6, 2021, Trump continued to implore him to break the law.) 

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. 

Representative-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. 

Rep. Louis Gohmert of Texas. 

Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona. 

Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland

 

890. Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia. (He told reporters he was going to protest the counting of the electoral votes on January 6, 2021. “The courts refuse to hear the President’s legal case,” he claimed. “We’re going to make sure the People can!”) 

(Unlike this blogger, Hice was too obtuse to follow the news.) 

(Team Trump filed 62 court challenges to overturn the 2020 vote, and lost 62.) 

Rep. Andy Biggs - big, big fan of Donald Trump.
The Constitution? Not so much.

 

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. 

Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania. 

The way the U.S. Constitution is designed, senators, elected for six-year terms, are less easily swayed by voter anger and overreaction, which often quickly abates. 

891. At the time of the above meeting, Sen. John Thune, a Republican representing South Dakota, correctly predicted that the plan being put forward by House members was “going down like a shot dog.” 

 

892. During testimony in Congress, White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson would later name several members of that body who sought pardons from President Trump before he left office. That included Biggs. 

893. Biggs now denies that – but when subpoenaed by the same January 6 Committee before which Ms. Hutchinson appeared, and offered an opportunity to testify, Andy decided he’d rather polish his guns. 

894. Rep. Jordan also dodged a subpoena. Now, with Republicans in charge of the U.S. House of Representatives, he heads the House Judiciary Committee – and wants to subpoena all kinds of folks. 

 

A plan to overturn voting results – hatched before the election. 

895. In any case, the indictment further notes that in Georgia,

 

members of the enterprise stole data, including ballot images, voting equipment software, and personal voter information. The stolen data was then distributed to other members of the enterprise, including members in other states.

 

Members of the enterprise, including several of the Defendants, filed false documents, made false statements to government investigators, and committed perjury in judicial proceedings in Fulton County, Georgia, and elsewhere[.] 

 

896. Team Trumpers argue that many of these actions involve free speech. Perjury is not free speech. 

 

897. In fact, the plan to steal the election was afoot even before votes were cast and counted. “[O]n or about October 31, 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP discussed [a] draft speech with unindicted coconspirator Individual l, whose identity is known to the Grand Jury, that falsely declared victory and falsely claimed voter fraud.” 

On November 19, 2020:

 

RUDOLPH WILLIAM LOUIS GIULIANI, JENNA LYNN ELLIS, SIDNEY KATHERINE POWELL, and unindicted coconspirator Individual 3, whose identity is known to the Grand Jury, appeared at press conference at the Republican National Committee Headquarters [in Washington D.C.].

 

There they “made false statements concerning fraud in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia and elsewhere.” 

On November 20, 2020, Trump and Meadows met with Republican leaders from the Michigan legislature. The president “made false statements concerning fraud in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Michigan.” Giuliani “joined the meeting by telephone,” and supported Trump’s claims. 

On or about November 22, Trump and Giuliani placed a call to Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, Russell “Rusty” Bowers. During the telephone call, Giuliani made several false statements concerning fraud in the presidential election in Arizona. He then solicited, requested, and importuned Bowers to unlawfully appoint [a separate set of] presidential electors from Arizona.” 

(Bowers refused to break his oath to uphold the Constitution.) 

Bowers testified under oath. Trump allies took the Fifth.
Or: Refused to show up.

 

 

Three days later Giuliani and Ellis “appeared, spoke, and presented witnesses at [a] meeting of Pennsylvania legislators in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.” During that meeting, Rudy “made false statements concerning fraud” in the recent election and asked those lawmakers to “unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Pennsylvania.” 

Ellis seconded Giuliani’s demands. 

(We have counted some of these steps in previous posts.) 

(Our goal remains the same: to reveal to MAGA folks the hard Truth.) 

 

898. The president joined the meeting by telephone, and allegedly added a few more false statements concerning fraud in Pennsylvania. Trump also asked lawmakers to “unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Pennsylvania.” 

899. Later that day Trump invited a group of Pennsylvania lawmakers and others to the White House. The president, White House Chief of Staff Meadows, Giuliani, and Ellis, as well as two unindicted co-conspirators, “whose identities are known to the Grand Jury,” met with the legislators and discussed holding a special session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. 

(The plan was to overturn the certification of the Pennsylvania electoral votes.) 

 

900. On November 26, Giuliani and Ellis called Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Bryan Cutler and left Cutler a voicemail message, “for the purpose of soliciting, requesting, and importuning him to unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Pennsylvania.” 

(A Trump lawyer has argued that this was free speech.) 

(Their requests, he insists, were “aspirational,” not criminal.) 

 

901. That same day Giuliani placed a telephone call to President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate Jacob “Jake” Corman and pressed him “to unlawfully appoint [an alternative slate of ] presidential electors from Pennsylvania.” 

902. Rudy and Jenna continued to work the phones like felonious beavers. On November 27, they called Cutler once more. In a voicemail message they again asked him “to unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Pennsylvania.” 

903. Next, Trump called Corman – and made the same illegal request. It was a busy day for the conspirators. 

 

 

904. On November 27, Giuliani called Culter again, and left a voicemail. We are paraphrasing here, but the message was: “Hey Bryan, can you help a brother out, and break a couple of laws?” 

(I think we can assume prosecutors have listened to the voicemails.) 

 

905. On November 30, the plotters turned up in Arizona, and tried to advance the same illegal plan. Giuliani and Ellis met with state lawmakers in Phoenix. Why couldn’t the legislators just appoint a false slate of electors pledged to vote in Trump’s name?  That same day, in Georgia, Michael A. Roman dipped his toes and feet in the felony pond. 

(A recount was later conducted by a pro-Trump organization in Arizona.) 

(Biden gained votes.) 

(LINK ABOVE.) 

 

906. At some point, during December 2020, Trump and Meadows, met with John McEntee, a White House aide, and requested that McEntee prepare a memorandum outlining strategy for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. That plan involved convincing Vice President Michael Pence not to count the electoral votes from certain states – such as Georgia – where Donald had tasted defeat. 

(McEntee got his start serving as Trump’s body man, fetching Diet Cokes.) 

(Not the kind of “legal scholar” you’d pick to craft an unconstitutional plan.) 

 

907. In early December, Giuliani and Ellis met with Speaker Bowers, and Senate President Karen Fann, and other Arizona legislators. Once again, they lied, and said they had evidence of voter fraud in the state, and begged lawmakers to call a special session of the Arizona State Legislature. The goal: Convincing lawmakers to overturn the results of the state’s fair election. 

(Gov. Doug Ducey had repeatedly said Arizona’s election was clean.) 

Ducey, in red tie, wanted Trump to win in 2020.
He wouldn't lie to say he did, however.
Rusty Bowers, bald, behind Trump, also wanted him to win.
He wouldn't lie either.

 

908. The next day, it was on to Michigan. Rudy and Jenna met with the Michigan House of Representatives Oversight Committee. This time they had actual witnesses to back them up. (Sort of.) Giuliani again made a series of unfounded claims about stolen votes in that state. Ellis supported his claim. They wanted lawmakers to appoint a new set of electors for the state. 

909. It was on to Georgia on December 3. This time, Giuliani and Ellis were backed by “JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN and RAY STALLINGS SMITH III.” During a meeting with Georgia state senators, the conspirators “committed the felony offense” of asking the gathered state senators to violate their oaths of office. 

The “ask” again was clear: Could Georgia lawmakers do a losing candidate a favor – and just appoint a new slate of electors who would vote for the man who lost the popular vote in their state?

 

“This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.” 

 

False claims made that day included: 

910. First, at least 96,600 illegal mail-in ballots were counted in the presidential election in Georgia. 

911. Second, that Dominion Voting Systems equipment used in Antrim County, Michigan, mistakenly recorded 6,000 votes for Joseph R. Biden when the votes were cast for Donald John Trump. So it could have happened in Georgia, too! 

(Two weeks later, a hand recount in Antrim County shows the vote was off by 12.) 

 

912. Third: 2,506 felons voted illegally in Georgia. 

913. Fourth: 66,248 underage people illegally registered to vote before their eighteenth birthday, prior to the presidential election. 

914. Fifth: At least 2,423 people voted in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia who were not listed as registered to vote. 

915. Sixth: 1,043 people voted in Georgia who had illegally registered to vote using a post office box as a mailing address. 

916. Seventh: 10,315 or more dead people had voted in Georgia. 

917. Eighth: Fulton County election workers at State Farm Arena ordered poll watchers and members of the media to leave the tabulation area on the night of November 3, 2020, and continued to operate after ordering everyone to leave. 

918. Next, the president got in on the act, tweeting that same day, “Wow! Blockbuster testimony taking place right now in Georgia. Ballot stuffing by Dems when Republicans were forced to leave the large counting room. Plenty more coming, but this alone leads to an easy win of the State!” 

 

Jumping ahead: 

919. We know now, as of August 4, 2024, that multiple courts have torched these very same lies. Giuliani and various right-wing news outlets have lost defamation cases for pushing the State Farm Arena lie. When Fox News kept claiming that Dominion Voting Machines were used to steal votes in places like Antrim County – and Georgia – Dominion sued. Fox couldn’t prove the claims its hosts were making and lost the case. Dominion settled for: $787.5 million – which is like a dollar for every lie you had to swallow to believe Trump won a landslide election in 2020. 

(He didn’t win at all.) 

 

Giuliani’s lies almost got two Georgia poll workers killed, and they sued for defamation, asking for between $15 million and $43 million. The jury hammered Rudy to the tune of $148.2 million. 

In fact, those who supported Trump’s lies in the right-wing news world, or in their own ways, have an impressive and growing record of courtroom defeats. To believe in Donald, of course, you must remain blissfully unaware. 

 

Trump loves Gov. Kemp – wait! – Trump hates Gov. Kemp. 

920. As noted in the Georgia indictment, you had President Trump busy with the tweets. “People in Georgia,” he claimed at one point, “got caught cold bringing in massive numbers of ballots and putting them in ‘voting’ machines. Greatjob @BrianKempGA!” 

Then:

 

On or about the 5th day of December 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP placed [a] telephone call to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and solicited, requested, and importuned Kemp to call [a] special session of the Georgia General Assembly. This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.

 

For whatever reason (and we will likely find out during the trial), Donald was not happy with what the governor told him. 

Soon after, the president tweeted: “Gee, what surprise. Has anyone informed the so-called (says he has no power to do anything!) Governor @BrianKempGA his puppet Lt. Governor @GeoffDuncanGA, that they could easily solve this mess, WIN. Signature verification call Special Session. So easy!” 

Hint to Trump fans: They weren’t going to call a special session because there was no proof the vote in the state was unfairly recorded. 

(Multiple elected GOP officials, in multiple states, rebuffed the conspirators.) 

 

921. Next up to break the law, we have “SIDNEY KATHERINE POWELL.” Without legal permission she worked out an agreement with a forensic data firm located in Fulton County, “for the performance of computer forensic collections and analytics on Dominion Voting Systems equipment in Michigan and elsewhere.” 

Powell and other conspirators unlawfully accessed election equipment in Coffee County, Georgia. 

 

The Wisconsin recount is finished. 

922. On December 7, 2020, via email, Eastman and Giuliani discussed the need to get all fake electors to vote on December 14, the day on which states and the District of Columbia are required to certify their votes. Attached to an email was a memorandum written by Chesebro to James R. Troupis, an attorney associated with the Trump Campaign, “and advocates for the position that Trump presidential elector nominees in Wisconsin should meet and cast electoral votes for DONALD JOHN TRUMP on December 14, 2020.” 

By this time – if any of the conspirators had calendars – they had to know that a partial recount of votes in Wisconsin, for which Team Trump paid $3 million, was complete. On November 29, the results had been announced. Election records in Dane and Milwaukee counties, the two most populous in the state, both Democratic bastions, had been examined for evidence of fraud. 

How many bogus votes turned up? 

None. 

Joe Biden gained votes. 

 

A stupid plan in Texas. 

923. In faraway Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton hatched a stupid plan of his own. He would challenge the vote in Georgia and other states Trump lost, claiming there was fraud. And so, he would say, poor Texas voters who loved Trump more than roping steers, didn’t get the president they desired. 

In an unrelated matter, Paxton, left, will later be accused of wire fraud.

 

924. Trump also calls Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr “for the purpose of making false statements concerning fraud in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia and elsewhere.” During that call, the president asks Carr not to discourage other state attorneys general from joining the Texas lawsuit “contesting the administration of the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.” Carr refuses to be involved. 

(No felony charges for him!) 

 

925. On December 8, 2020, Trump and Eastman call Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. They ask her to help in gathering individuals to meet and cast electoral votes for Trump on December 14, 2020, in multiple states. Chesebro turns into an emailing fool – basically asking officials and lawmakers in multiple states, including Georgia, to break multiple laws. 

(Three days earlier, the third count of the votes in Georgia was finished.) 

(Once, twice, thrice, counts show Biden won.) 

  

  

Chesebro is a busy conspirator on December 10, sending emails to both indicted and unindicted individuals in Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Basically, he wants them to break or at least bend multiple laws. 

926. Around that same time, David Shafer “contacted unindicted co-conspirator Individual 2 … by telephone and discussed unindicted co-conspirator Individual 2’s attendance at the December 14, 2020, meeting of Trump presidential elector nominees in Fulton County, Georgia.” 

(Individual 2 was likely worried about breaking the law.) 

 

Like trying to teach Spanish to donkeys. 

927. In simple terms, on “or about the 10th day of December 2020,” Giuliani and Smith III “committed the felony offense” of asking eleven “elected members of the Georgia House of Representatives,” to join them in the plot. All they needed was for lawmakers to appoint “presidential electors from Georgia, in willful and intentional violation of the terms of the oath of said persons as prescribed by law, with intent that said persons engage in said conduct.” 

Defendants were asking those eleven to commit felonies – conspiring, in other words, to break the law.

 

928. Rudy allegedly committed a second felony when he lied about purported voter fraud in Georgia, in hopes lawmakers would go along with the plot to overturn the Electoral College vote. Once again, he insisted, “That it is quite clear from the State Farm Arena Video from November 3, 2020, that Fulton County election workers were stealing votes and that Georgia officials were covering up crime in plain sight.” Rudy further claimed that “Democratic officials ‘got rid of all of the reporters, all the observers, anyone that couldn’t be trusted,’” and used the excuse of a watermain break to clear out the voting area. Then they “went about their dirty, crooked business.” 

929. Giuliani insisted that between 12,000 and 24,000 ballots were illegally counted by Fulton County election workers at State Farm Arena. 

930. In days to come, President Trump would, on multiple occasions, jack the figure of the “stolen votes” to 54,000. 

Math accuracy has never been his forte. 

(Nor truth.) 

 

931. Meanwhile, Rudy is telling lawmakers that in Michigan, there were 700,000 more ballots counted than were sent out to voters in the November election, which could only be explained by quadruple counting. 

932. He claims again that Ruby Freeman, Shaye Moss, and an unidentified man were “quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they’re vials of heroin or cocaine” at State Farm Arena to be used to “infiltrate the crooked Dominion voting machines.” He claims that 96,600 mail-in ballots were counted in Georgia, despite there being no record of those ballots having been returned to county elections offices. 

Sadly, for Team Trump, none of these complaints held up in court in 2020 – and haven’t since. 

Unfortunately, as we approach the 2024 election, trying to explain all of this to avid Trump fans feels quite a bit like trying to teach Spanish to donkeys.

¿Hablas español?

“The votes could be flipped to Trump.” 

933. On or about December 11, 2020, Mr. Shafer reserved Room 216 at the Georgia State Capitol so it could be used for the secret December 14 meeting of the fake electors. That same day, Mr. Chesebro pretty much gave away the game. In an email to Jim DeGraffenreid, in Nevada, he admitted that “the purpose of having the electoral votes sent in to Congress is to provide the opportunity to debate the election irregularities in Congress, and to keep alive the possibility that the votes could be flipped to Trump.” 

(That’s the goal of the entire conspiracy.) 

 

934. Chesebro sends out documents to be used by fake electors in Arizona, a state where the Republican governor has already said the vote (which went to Biden) was fair. 

935. The same kind of documents go to Nevada, and, of course, to Georgia – where the Republican governor has also said the vote was legit. 

That same day, “MICHAEL A. ROMAN sent an e-mail to two unindicted co-conspirators, and “other individuals associated with the Trump Campaign.” What he needed, he said, was a “tracker for the electors.” According to prosecutors, he needed someone to create a “shared spreadsheet listing Trump presidential elector nominees in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.” You would have, in essence, 16 fake electors in Georgia, 11 in Arizona, 16 in Michigan, and so on.

 

936. This was going to be a wide-ranging conspiracy, and there were going to be a lot of felonies commissioned and committed. So: You were going to need a goddam spreadsheet to keep track of all the crimes that had to be executed. 

937. In several cases, in various states, the first fakes chosen to vote on December 14 backed out, rather than break the law, and new fakes had to be recruited. 

(In exactly none of these states has significant voter fraud been proven.) 

 

938. Chesebro was in the thick of it all. On December 12, he met with a Republican operative in Wisconsin and discussed the December 14, 2020, meeting of Trump presidential elector nominees in that state. Giuliani joined the meeting by telephone and stated that the media should not be notified of the plan. 

 

 

“Refused to participate.” 

Shafer was notified on “the progress of organizing the December 14, 2020, meeting of Trump presidential elector nominees in Georgia.”

 

The e-mail stated which elector nominees had confirmed they would attend the meeting, that other individuals had been secured in case some of the elector nominees refused to participate in the meeting, that Georgia legislators had been contacted to ensure access to the Georgia Capitol, and that DAVID JAMES SHAFER had reserved Room 216 for the meeting.

 

As the deadline approached emails flew in all directions. “Unindicted co-conspirator Individual 4” was busy, as were Chesebro, and Roman. Documents to be signed by fake electors – to give them a whiff of legitimacy – went out to Trump electors in New Mexico – almost a conspiracy afterthought. 

Chesebro sent an e-mail to Giuliani with the subject line: “PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL Brief notes on ‘President of the [U.S.] Senate’ strategy.” In it, he “outlined multiple strategies for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”

 

939. Chesebro made clear that this effort to disrupt and delay the vote in Congress was “preferable to allowing the Electoral Count Act [ECA] to operate by its terms.” He knew that the provisions of the ECA would prohibit the plotters from continuing down the path they were treading. In an email to Roman, he as much as admitted that the whole plan was illegal, noting that Giuliani “wants to keep this quiet until after all the voting is done.” 

940. There was discussion about one of the “fakes” who had agreed to cast a vote for Trump but had now backed out. An email message confirmed that “unindicted co-conspirator Individual 13” would attend, instead, and would vote for Trump. 

941. On December 14, the President of the United States fired up his Twitter account, sending out the following message: “What a fool Governor @BrianKempGA of Georgia is. Could have been so easy, but now we have to do it the hard way. Demand this clown call Special Session and open up signature verification, NOW. Otherwise, could be bad day for two GREAT Senators on January 5th.” 

(Trump was predicting fraud in special elections to fill two U.S. Senate seats.) 

 

942. On that same day, Shafer notified one of Georgia’s fake electors to tell everyone to be careful. “Listen,” he warned. “Tell them to go straight to Room 216 to avoid drawing attention [emphasis added, unless otherwise noted] to what we are doing.” So, the fake electors met secretly in Georgia, or tried, and voted for Donald J. Trump. 

Fortunately, journalist George Chidi spit in the plotter’s soup. He first realized something odd was afoot when a source who usually liked to talk buzzed past in the hall of the state capital, as if he had never seen Chidi in his life. Then the source disappeared into Room 216. Chidi had a hunch something was up, turned the doorknob himself, and stepped into the room. What he saw, and simultaneously live streamed from his phone, were six to 10 people who reacted with alarm. As the source, a young Republican activist named C.J. Pearson, bustled wordlessly out of the room, Mr. Chidi asked what was going on. “Education,” someone said. 

What, in fact, Chidi had stumbled upon was what had been meant to remain secret: a meeting of Georgia’s alternate slate of electors (fakes), who would pledge their votes (fake) to the Orange God of Mar-a-Lago (fake deity). 

 

943. In any case, a document titled “CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA” was signed. 

As prosecutors explain:

 

DAVID JAMES SHAFER, SHAWN MICAH TRESHER STILL, CATHLEEN ALSTON LATHAM, and unindicted coconspirators Individual 2, Individual 8, Individual 9, Individual 10, Individual 11, Individual 12, Individual 13, Individual 14, Individual 15, Individual 16, Individual 17, Individual 18, and Individual 19, whose identities are known to the Grand Jury, committed the felony offense of IMPERSONATING [a] PUBLIC OFFICER … [that is impersonating a duly sworn presidential elector] … with intent to mislead the President of the United States Senate, the Archivist of the United States, the Georgia Secretary of State, and the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia into believing that they actually were such officers by placing in the United States mail to said persons document titled “CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA.” 

(At least some of those unindicted persons must be cooperating with prosecutors.) 

 

The same conspirators, as listed above, were charged with several felonies related to this fake vote. There was the felony offense of “forgery in the first degree,” and a felony for making false statements and writings, and another for “filing false documents,” and a bonus felony for Shafer for claiming that he was “Chairman of the 2020 Georgia Electoral College Meeting,” which in fact he was not 

944. Let’s just say it took a lot of felonies – allegedly, we should remind readers – to flesh out the plot. 

 

945. Next, we had some classic witness intimidation. On December 14, “STEPHEN CLIFFGARD LEE” traveled,

 

to the home of Ruby Freeman, Fulton County, Georgia, election worker, and speaking to her neighbor, with intent to knowingly engage in misleading conduct toward Ruby Freeman, by purporting to offer her help, and with intent to influence her testimony [emphasis added throughout] in an official proceeding in Fulton County, Georgia, concerning events at State Farm Arena in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia.

 

946. The next day, Mr. Lee was back. This time he came to  Freeman’s home, knocked on her door, “with intent to knowingly engage in misleading conduct” and again pretended to “offer her help.” 

947. Lee then enlisted “HARRISON WILLIAM PRESCOTT FLOYD, an individual associated with the organization Black Voices for Trump, to assist with his effort” to speak to Freeman. Lee explained to Floyd that Ruby Freeman was afraid to talk to him, “because he was a white man.” 

Could Floyd help him trick the witness? 

(By this time Freeman and her daughter had been swamped with death threats.) 

 

Why not give Sidney Powell special counsel powers! 

948. On December 18, 2020, Trump met with Giuliani, Powell, and unindicted co-conspirator Individual 20. Discussion turned to “seizing voting equipment and appointing SIDNEY KATHERINE POWELL as special counsel with broad authority to investigate allegations of voter fraud in Georgia and elsewhere.” Powell sent an email to the Chief Operations Officer of SullivanStrickler LLC and instructed him that “she and unindicted co-conspirators Individual 6, Individual 21, and Individual 22 should immediately receive a copy of all data obtained by SullivanStrickler LLC from Dominion Voting Systems equipment in Michigan. 

949. We won’t know this until October 2023, but when Powell agrees to a plea deal in Georgia, former President Trump insists she was never his lawyer, and he wouldn’t recognize her if they met in the frozen foods aisle at the grocery store. 

950. On December 22, White House Chief of Staff Meadows traveled to the Cobb County Civic Center in Cobb County, Georgia, “and attempted to observe the signature match audit being performed there by law enforcement officers from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State, despite the fact that the audit process was not open to the public.” 

951. With Trump supporters screaming about massive voter fraud, election officials in Georgia had decided to conduct a spot check of voter signatures to evaluate how the system had worked. Biden won 56% of 387,000 votes in Cobb County, so an audit sample of 15,000 absentee ballots would surely turn up, according to Trump fans and the president himself, 400,000 dead people who voted. 

Alas, only two (2) signature mismatches were found. 

Two. 

 

952. With Christmas approaching, President Trump placed a call to the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State Chief Investigator Frances Watson. Mr. Meadows had arranged the call. Trump insisted, yet again, that he won the presidential election in Georgia “by hundreds of thousands of votes.” He assured Watson that “when the right answer comes out you’ll be praised.” 

(Even the densest Trump fan can figure out what “right answer” he desired.) 

 

One vote per state! 

953. Meanwhile, Eastman and Chesebro were busy emailing each other for fun, and trying to craft a memorandum regarding the “Jan scenario.” If they could cause enough confusion with their multiple slates of fake electors, they might pressure Vice President Pence to throw out several dozen Biden votes on January 6. With luck, in the ensuing confusion, the count would be challenged, and the whole mess would be dropped in the lap of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

954. Then, the conspirators hoped, the justices would deny “review on nonjusticiable political question grounds.” In other words, with luck, and a little help from Justice Clarence “I Got a Free Mobile Home” Thomas and his meddlesome wife, the Court might declare the matter outside its jurisdiction. 

955. Next, Team Trump allies in Congress could throw the election to the U.S. House of Representatives – as set forth under provisions of the Twelfth Amendment. As outlined in that amendment, if no individual has a majority of the electoral votes, the House must determine the winner. In that case, each state has one vote. So, Wyoming’s one member of the House could scratch his or her head, and cast their one vote for – Trump. Then the 53 members of the House from California could discuss matters, and vote by majority, and then cast their one vote – for Biden.

 

956. You can see where this would be going – and Republicans, who dominate in states with less people than cows, would be able to steal a win. 

Yay, South Dakota! 

 

“Just say that the election was corrupt.” 

957. By now, it’s Christmas, 2020, and all the good little boys and girls have presents to unwrap. All Trump wants is a second term he hasn’t earned. Once again, he calls Rusty Bowers, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, to ask him to appoint a new slate of presidential electors from that state. 

During the call, Bowers explains to Trump, “I voted for you, worked for you, campaigned for you, just won’t do anything illegal for you.” 

Meadows allegedly commits another felony on December 27, and Trump decides he needs to keep pace. This time he pressures Acting United States Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and Acting United States Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue to make false statements, stating, “Just say that the election was corrupt, and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.”

 

958. By this time, the following individuals, and many others, have already informed Mr. Trump that the election was not corrupt:

 

Former Attorney General Bill Barr

Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona

Bowers

Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan of Georgia

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

Chris Krebs, head of U.S. cyber security

 

– and now –

 

Rosen and Donoghue.

 

(All of these men are Republicans or Trump appointees, or both.) 

 

959. The following day, “JEFFREY BOSSERT CLARK” joins in the conspiracy, committing a felony offense, by “knowingly and willfully” making false claims “that the United States Department of Justice had ‘identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.’” 

960. Clark scores a second felony charge, when he presses Rosen and Donoghue to sign and send a document making that same claim. 

961. Rosen refuses. 

962. Donoghue tells Clark (in essence) to kiss his ass. 

963. Trump continues to press for Georgia elected officials to join the plot. On December 30, 2020, he tweets:

 

Hearings from Atlanta on the Georgia Election overturn now being broadcast. Check it out. @OANN @newsmax and many more. @BrianKempGA should resign from office. He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG! Also won the other Swing States. 

(Not a syllable in that tweet has ever been shown to be true in any court.) 

 

964. That same day, Giuliani racked up a couple of additional charges, as he and other plotters continued to press Georgia lawmakers to violate their oaths of office and back the slate of fake electors Rudy and others had cobbled together. Once again, this time in front of the Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, Rudy repeated most of the same false claims he had made before in a meeting with members of the Georgia House of Representatives. For example – that Fulton County election workers fraudulently counted certain ballots as many as five times at State Farm Arena. 

As we have already noted, accuracy is not a strength of the Team Trump effort to overturn the election. There are supposedly 18,000 fake ballots that are counted. Trump will claim they were counted three times = 54,000 illegal Biden votes. 

Rudy now claims five times = 90,000 illegal Biden votes. 

Rudy will later claim the votes were counted eight times = to 100,000,000 illegal Biden votes. 

(Okay, that number is the blogger’s joke.)

 

965. The real “Rudy Number” would be 144,000. 

Investigators from the F.B.I. and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had already looked into this matter and found there had been no illegal counting. A hand recount, and a second machine count had shown that no large voter discrepancies could be found in Fulton County. Or, frankly, Georgia. 

 

New felonies were committed in clusters and bunches. 

966-967. If you’re still following along, there are many more felonies to come. Ray Stallings Smith III gets charged with making false statements in front of the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee. First: That Georgia Secretary of State General Counsel Ryan Germany stated that his office had sent letters to 8,000 people who voted illegally in the November 3, 2020, presidential election and told them not to vote in the January 5, 2021, runoff election. Second: That the Georgia Secretary of State admitted that they had only a “90% accuracy rate” in the presidential election and that “there’s still [a] 10% margin that’s not accurate.” 

968. Truth, of course, did not concern nor hamper Mr. Trump. He kept up the pressure, tweeting again on  December 30: “We now have far more votes than needed to flip Georgia in the Presidential race. Massive VOTER FRAUD took place. Thank you to the Georgia Legislature for today’s revealing meeting!” 

(This was, in fact, a lie.) 

 

969. Ellis (for sure) and Eastman (allegedly) kept committing fresh felonies as the year drew to a close. Ellis floated a plan to have Vice President Pence refuse to open any electoral votes from six states, including Georgia, because those votes were in dispute. 

Legally, they weren’t. 

 

970. Eastman filed in court for emergency relief, claiming that voting in Georgia had been marred by fraud, and made a series of unfounded charges. “Earlier on the same day,” prosecutors noted, “JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN sent an email to attorneys associated with the Trump Campaign admitting his knowledge that at least some of the allegations in the verified complaint were not accurate.” 

(Who needs accuracy in court!) 

 

971. A New Year dawned, and new felonies were committed in clusters and bunches. On January 2, 2021, Mr. Clark again asked Rosen and  Donoghue to sign and send a document that falsely stated that the United States Department of Justice had “identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.” 

For a second time, Rosen and Donoghue passed on the chance to qualify for felonies of their own. 

 

972. With options for overthrowing the results of the election in Georgia and elsewhere dwindling, Trump and Meadows risked piling up fresh felonies. On January 2, 2020, they placed a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that call, the president repeated all kinds of claims of voter fraud – both in Georgia and other states – that had been disproven. Raffensperger, and two other Republican officials on the call shot down each claim in sequence. 

The president went so far as to claim that Ruby Freeman was a “professional vote scammer” and again insisted that she and others had run 18,000 fake Biden ballots through voting machines three times. 

He said 139% of the population of Detroit had voted in the 2020 election. 

He said 5,000 dead Georgians had shambled to the polls. 

He said more votes were recorded in Pennsylvania than there were voters. 

(Not a single claim Trump made has ever been verified by the courts.) 

(We have counted these examples before.) 

 

The next day, the free press broke the story, having obtained a recording of the call. An angry president tweeted: “I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the ‘ballots under table’ scam, ballot destruction, out of state ‘voters’, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!” 

(Listen to the call. You can hear Raffensperger rebut every claim.) 

 

Witness intimidation as a last resort. 

973. The next piece of the conspiracy involved pressing Ms. Freeman, starting on January 3, to admit that she counted tens of thousands of votes illegally. Three co-conspirators, “STEPHEN CLIFFGARD LEE, HARRISON WILLIAM PRESCOTT FLOYD, and TREVIAN C. KUTTI” were involved. Floyd unsuccessfully tried to call Freeman. He tried again a minute later. Then he sent Freeman a text message. Multiple phone conversations among the conspirators took up the next two hours. 

974. On January 4, Kutti, “having been recruited” by Floyd, “traveled from Chicago, Illinois, to Atlanta, Georgia,” by train. Soon after, she visited Freeman’s home , but was unable to contact her. Kutti spoke with Freeman’s neighbor and “falsely stated that she was [a] crisis manager attempting to ‘help’ Freeman.” 

975. Kutti later contacted Ms. Freeman by phone and “stated that Freeman was in danger,” which was definitely true – largely because of reckless lies told by some of the conspirators themselves. 

976. She “stated that she could ‘help’ Freeman and requested that Freeman meet with and speak to her that night at Cobb County Police Department precinct.” That evening, Kutti and Freeman spoke for about an hour. Floyd joined the discussion by phone. He told Freeman that “she needed protection and purported to offer her help.” All that was needed was for Freeman to admit that ballots had been illegally counted and she’d be clear of any legal problems. And the waves of death threats she and her daughter were receiving might abate. This is old-fashioned witness intimidation if you fail to catch the drift. 

(Ruby bravely refused to comply.) 

 

977. Like annoying emails, asking you to donate to the Trump 2024 election campaign, the felonies kept coming. On January 4, 2021, Eastman called Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Rusty Bowers and again begged him to appoint a bogus slate of presidential electors from Arizona. 

“Bowers declined to comply with Eastman’s request and stated that he would not risk violating his oath of office.” 

 

Both options violated the Electoral Count Act. 

978. Later that day, conspirators Trump and Eastman met with Vice President Mike Pence, his Chief of Staff, Marc Short, and Counsel to the Vice President Greg Jacob. If he would only agree to disrupt the vote count on January 6, the delay would, hopefully, allow “certain state legislatures to unlawfully appoint presidential electors in favor of DONALD JOHN TRUMP.” During the meeting, Eastman admitted this move would violate the Electoral Count Act. 

More conspirators. More alleged felonies. More BS. On January 5, Trump tweeted more sh*t. A blogger can only do so much, and he’s wearing out his eyes reading the indictment, and his fingers typing up key points. 

You can read the indictment online, yourself; but if you love Trump, the blogger fears you won’t.

 

979. With time running out, Trump called the vice president in for another meeting. He insisted Pence had the power to decertify the 2020 election results, that Democrats cheated, and grumbled that Pence wanted to “play by Marquess of Queensberry rules.” 

980. When Pence stated that it was his duty to support and defend the Constitution and that only Congress had the power to decide to reject slates of presidential electors, Trump called Pence “naive,” implied that he lacked courage, and stated that Pence was doing “a great disservice.” 

(The Queensbury rules in boxing forbid one fighter from hitting the other in the nuts.) 

(There is only one Trump Rule: “Do what is best for Donald J. Trump.”) 

 

981. Later that day, Trump and Eastman tried again – placing a call to Mr. Pence and importuning him to break the law. 

 

“The Vice President and I are in total agreement.” 

982. Trump then tried a second call, all by himself. He asked Mr. Pence if he had received a copy of a letter from a group of Pennsylvania legislators urging Congress to return the state’s electoral college votes. “You gotta be tough tomorrow,” he insisted. In fact, Trump decided if he was going to keep making up sh*t he might as well go big. That evening he issued a  statement through the Trump Campaign that falsely stated,

 

The Vice President and I are in total agreement [emphasis added] that the Vice President has the power to act. Our Vice President has several options under the U.S. Constitution. He can decertify the results or send them back to the states for change and certification. He can also decertify the illegal and corrupt results and send them to the House of Representatives for the one vote for one state tabulation. 

(Mr. Pence had never once agreed to any of that.) 

(What a brazen lie!!!) 

 

983. Down in Georgia, various conspirators were planning to breach, “without legal authority, the election equipment at the Coffee County Board of Elections Registration Office.” In that effort, “SCOTT GRAHAM HALL and CATHLEEN ALSTON LATHAM” racked up a few felonies of their own. They were hoping to get proof that voting machines had been rigged. 

984. On January 6, 2021, President Trump spoke at a rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. During his speech, he spewed a flood of false statements concerning fraud in the election, both in Georgia and elsewhere. Again, he solicited Vice President Mike Pence to disrupt and delay the joint session of Congress, and encouraged those in attendance at the rally to march to the United States Capitol. 

985. Giuliani also spoke – told a few lies to warm up the mob – and, according to prosecutors, added another felony or two to his list. 

986. Not to be outdone, in terms of committing felonies, Eastman spoke too – and lied – in an effort to advance the conspiracy. 

(Maybe an attack on Congress would work!!!) 

 

“We will Win the Presidency.” 

987. In an effort to pressure Pence further, Trump soon tweeted,

 

If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will Win the Presidency. Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect even fraudulent numbers in process NOT approved by their State Legislatures (which it must be). Mike can send it back! 

(Valid electoral votes had been duly certified in all fifty states and D.C.) 

 

988. Then, another presidential tweet: “States want to correct their votes, which they now know were based on irregularities and fraud, plus corrupt process never received legislative approval. All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN.” 

989. Trump was a felony-committing juggernaut. He called Pence again and urged him to disrupt the scheduled vote. When Pence refused, Trump warned that Pence would “go down as wimp” in the history books, and claimed that Pence was not protecting the United States. 

(Translation: He wasn’t protecting Donald J. Trump.) 

 

A riot on Capitol Hill soon erupted. Trump sat back and watched events unfold on television. Dozens of police officers were battered and plenty of rioters got chemicals sprayed in their faces. One attacker was shot and killed. Another was trampled to death by the mob. Trump didn’t care.

 

990. The felonies (alleged) just kept coming. Eastman called Pence late in the evening on January 6, and asked him to break a law or two, himself. The next day, several conspirators broke into the Coffee County election board office and, without legal authority, tampered with the machines. Here we should note that in the first hand recount, done by state election officials, Coffee County votes perfectly matched the machine count: Trump 10,578, and Biden 4,511. 

The second recount did stall in Coffee County – over a discrepancy of 50 votes. 

 

991. All other Georgia counties, 158, managed to validate their returns. 

992. If one breech of the system wasn’t enough, “on about the 18th day of January 2021, MISTY HAMPTON allowed unindicted coconspirators Individual 25 and Individual 29 … to access non-public areas of the Coffee County Board of Elections Registration Office in Coffee County, Georgia.” Once more they managed to access Dominion Voting Systems equipment. “This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.” 

993. Trump’s time in office had now dwindled to 48 hours, and conspirators were clamoring for pardons. That included Giuliani, and Meadows, among others – a sign of “consciousness of guilt.” 

994. Once the investigation was opened in Fulton County, conspirators began a second round of felony offenses, repeatedly perjuring themselves. For example, in September 2022, Latham lied when she claimed she had been present at the Coffee County Board of Elections Registration Office for “just [a] few minutes” on January 7, 2021. For good measure, she lied again and said that she only “walked into the front part” of the Coffee County Board of Elections Registration Office and “didn’t go into the office.” And if Misty Hampton was present, Latham tried to convince investigators she didn’t see her, or hear her, or even smell her perfume. 

(Prosecutors appear to have video tape of the conspirators in action.) 

 

995. In September 2023, we learned that the lawyer responsible for breaching the Antrim County machines was facing a separate indictment.) 

996. On September 22, 2022, it was Cheeley’s chance to commit perjury – and he snatched it with gusto. (Allegedly.) He claimed he had no prior knowledge of the December 14, 2020, meeting of the fake electors. He denied having “substantive conversations with anyone” about the meeting “until after the meeting had already taken place.” He said he never “suggested to anyone” that the Trump presidential elector nominees in Georgia should meet that day, and if he saw Professor Eastman in a police lineup, he couldn’t pick him out. 

That's the guy! Dr. Eastman.

 

A Felony Festival in Georgia. 

997. At this point, reading through the indictment, the blogger’s eyes started to glaze over – but the alleged felonies piled higher and higher. It was a Felony Festival in Georgia. Rudy gets a few more. Trump gets a few more. There’s rampant lying – including under oath. Since several defendants falsely signed documents, claiming to be the real electors from the State of Georgia, the Grand Jury added a felony charge for five individuals for “the offense of FORGERY IN THE FIRST DEGREE.” 

For variety we might as well keep a tally of alleged felonies committed, and leave the rest for the courts to decide. 

998. The leader of the felonious crew is, of course, 

DONALD JOHN TRUMP – 13 FELONY COUNTS. 

999. His co-conspirators, in alphabetical order, face or faced a combined 122 felony charges, divvied up as follows: 

ROBERT DAVID CHEELEY – 10

KENNETH JOHN CHESEBRO – 7

(he pled to one)

 

JEFFREY BOSSERT CLARK – 2

JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN – 9

JENNA ELLIS – 2

(she pled to one)

 

HARRISON WILLIAM PRESCOTT FLOYD – 3

RUDOLPH WILLIAM LOUIS GIULIANI – 13

SCOTT GRAHAM HALL – 7

(he pled to five misdemeanor counts)

 

MISTY HAMPTON – 7

TREVIAN C. KUTTI  - 3

CATHLEEN ALSTON LATHAM – 11

STEPHEN CLIFFGARD LEE – 5

MARK RANDALL MEADOWS – 2

SIDNEY KATHERINE POWELL – 7

(she pled to six misdemeanor counts)

 

MICHAEL A. ROMAN – 7

DAVID JAMES SHAFER – 8

RAY STALLINGS SMITH III – 12

SHAWN MICAH TRESHER STILL – 7

 

Signed,

FANI T. WILLIS, District Attorney 

District Attorney Willis.

“You either have it, or you don’t.” 

1000. August 16, 2023: So, there the indictment stands. Now for a bit of reaction from leading Republicans, men of honor. “The Georgia election was not stolen and I had no right to overturn the election on January 6,” former Vice President Mike Pence says. 

1001. “Over a year ago, I said that Donald Trump’s actions disqualified him from ever serving as President again,” said former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “Those words are more true today than ever before.” 

1002. After Trump let loose another blast of falsehoods on “Truth Social,” insisting he had “irrefutable proof” that he was cheated out of a Georgia win, Gov. Brian Kemp had to wade into the controversy yet again. “The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen. For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward – under oath – and prove anything in a court of law,” he explained. 

1003. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also made clear. Asked about this fourth indictment of Mr. Trump, Raffensperger explained, “The most basic principles of a strong democracy are accountability and respect for the Constitution and rule of law. You either have it, or you don’t.” 

(Trump doesn’t.) 

 

1004. The former Lt. Governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan, also a Republican, is even more fiery in response. Asked during an interview on NPR to comment on the latest indictment, he replied,

 

I think the more Americans can see and specifically Republicans ... [the] crazy series of events that played out, the more they can see it in three dimension, I think the quicker we’re going to start to heal as a party and move past Donald Trump. I just, I think history is going to prove that Donald Trump was one of the biggest mistakes this country’s ever made.

 

He thought a moment, before adding, “If we, as Republicans, don’t use this moment of insanity inside our party as a pivot point, then shame on us. 

 

1005. Governor Ron DeSantis also figured out the obvious. When pressed for an answer by an interviewer on the outcome of the 2020 election, he finally had to admit that Biden was the real president. 

“Of course, he lost,” he said of Trump. 

 

1006. And let’s not forget former Attorney General Bill Barr – whose lack of courage saved Trump during the Mueller investigation. 

Working with Trump for as long as he did, Barr finally grasped a cruel truth. In an interview on Fox News he explained that in the aftermath of Trump’s loss in 2020, he could not approve of the way the president kept repeating “The Big Lie.” Yet even he was surprised how far Trump would go. 

“During this time, he was being told by lawyers in the White House if he kept doing this, he would spend the rest of his life tangling with the criminal justice process. That’s exactly what has happened. He shouldn’t be surprised and no one else should be surprised,” Barr told Brett Baier.

Boris - pussy grabber in training?

 

A “fatter Tony Soprano.” 

It took time for this particular story to leak, but this is typical of the kind of people who gravitate toward the former president. Current Trump lawyer (and alleged co-conspirator, as we now know, in his boss’s third indictment, in federal court), Boris Epshteyn, has been outed for a crime committed in 2021. 

1007. According to police reports, Epshteyn was accused of groping two sisters at a Scottsdale, Arizona nightclub. The most serious charges were dropped, but the Team Trump player pled guilty to disorderly conduct, paid a fine, and served probation. At the time of the incident, one of the sisters said security guards told her they couldn’t kick Boris out, because he was a “big spender” at the club, although they did escort him out after the girls continued to complain. 

Asked by police to describe the perpetrator at the time of his arrest, the older sister said he was “ugly” and wearing a “white Ralph Lauren polo.” She added that Epshteyn looked like a “fatter Tony Soprano.”

 

1008. Additional digging by practitioners of the free press uncovered another nugget from Mr. Epshteyn’s past. He was also arrested in 2014, after a fight at a Scottsdale club, and charged with “assault-touching” of other women, but worked out a plea deal and later had his conviction set aside. 

(Team Trump is led by the Pussy Grabber, and pussy grabbers gravitate his way.) 

(New names to add to the Team Trump “Wall of Shame” include Ellis, Powell, and Hall.) 

(We had added Chesebro and Roman before.) 

 

NOTE ON METHODOLOGY: In every post, we place names in bold, of individuals, or sets of individuals who know Trump can’t be trusted. 

In this post alone, we have: 

1 grand jury (the vote to indict was 23-0)

3 states, holding recounts

5 state governors

1 state attorney general

1 lieutenant governor

various “fake” electors (who lose their nerve)

3 sets of state lawmakers

3 state Speakers of the House

2 U.S. Attorney Generals

1 Deputy U.S. Attorney General

1 White House aide

5 conspirators who have taken plea deals

Rep. Mo Brooks

The F.B.I. 

– and –  

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation. 

 

Asking officials to lie to the American people? 

UPDATE (September 14, 2024): When I do my most recent edit, this case has been on ice for over a year. First, Trump lawyers fought for all kinds of technical delays (as is the right of any defendant, if they think delays will benefit their defense – and assuming they have tall stacks of cash, and can afford such stall tactics). 

Second, Trump lawyers objected to Ms. Willis as a prosecutor, accusing her of corruption and malfeasance. 

Also fair enough. 

In addition, on July 1, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity completely clouded matters. The conservative majority, in a 6-3 vote, held that “official duties” must be broadly defined, so that, even when Mr. Trump tried to get top officials at the Department of Justice to lie (as at least four have testified he did) and tell the American people that the 2020 election was rife with fraud (they told him it wasn’t) even this behavior might be shielded by immunity, because… 

F*ck if I know. 

I have to say, I was busy this summer pedaling my bicycle across the United States. So I still need to read the full court decision.

 

 
The blogger, posing with a young rider, not far from Bismarck, N.D.
He was going west. She and her husband were headed east on their honeymoon.

 

For now, as I understand it, the six justices in the majority agreed that a president can talk to any of the people who work for him. The director of the EPA. The White House cook. The head of the C.I.A. 

Talking to officials. Yep. Official duties. 

Asking the top people at DOJ to lie to the American people? 

Holy sh*t!