Jan. 6 committee chases fake electoral ballots, says Giuliani led effort

Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The committee probing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol found that as presidential electors gathered to affirm President Joe Biden's victory, Republicans cast fraudulent unofficial votes for former President Donald Trump -- and that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani led the effort.

They signed certificates claiming they were qualified to represent Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Georgia, CNN reported.

The Jan. 6 committee is looking deeper into the fake certificates and the fraudulent activity that went into preparing them, members of the committee have said.

Members of the campaign team, led by Giuliani, orchestrated efforts to cast votes from illegitimate electors in the seven states, which former Trump lost in the 2020 election, according to sources who testified before the committee.

"We want to look to see to what extent this was part of a comprehensive plan to overthrow the 2020 election," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Politico.

One source told the committee that the Trump campaign lined up supporters to fill elector slots, secured meeting rooms in statehouses with the fake electors on December 14, 2020, and circulated drafts of fake certificates that were sent to the National Archives.

National Archives investigators are currently compiling materials to submit to the committee, with members of the committee calling the apparent involvement of the Trump team a "concern" and potentially setting a "dangerous precedent."

The documents could mean that the law was broken and shed light on long-known allegations of false electors, they said.

Michigan's top prosecutor, Attorney General Dana Nessel, said recently that she's been investigating the submission of illegitimate electors for a year.

"This is a crime. This is election fraud," Nessel told Politico. "And it's many other crimes, as well; both, I believe, at the state and federal level."

The rival slates were intended as part of the effort to help former Vice President Michael Pence reject Biden's victory if the campaign had prevailed in any of its legal challenges to the election result, according to statements made at the time by Giuliani, former Trump aide Stephen Miller and others involved with the Trump campaign effort.