Former president Donald Trumphis former chief of staff Marc Pres and his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani are unindicted co-conspirators in a Michigan “fake voter” scheme linked to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a state investigator testified Wednesday.
During a hearing in the case, Duane Silverthorn, an attorney for a defendant charged in the scheme, read a list of names and asked if they were “unindicted co-conspirators” in the scheme. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s investigation.
Howard Shock, a special agent in the AG’s office who was under cross-examination, responded in the affirmative when the names of Trump, Meadows and Giuliani were read. Shock also answered “yes” when Trump’s former lawyer Jenna Ellis“The name has been read.
Last year, Nessel’s office filed a complaint against 16 people who signed documents falsely claiming that Trump defeated the Democrat Joe Biden in the state.
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday that Trump was being targeted as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and that Biden’s Democratic allies were “further abusing and abusing the power of their offices in an effort at limitless interference.” in the presidential election. »
Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s spokesperson, said in a statement Wednesday that Giuliani “is proud to stand up for the countless Americans who have raised legitimate concerns about the 2020 U.S. presidential election.”
A lawyer for Meadows suggested Shock’s statement was not factual, saying someone was “saying that doesn’t mean it is so.”
“This seems like an opinion, not a fact,” George Terwilliger, the attorney, said in a statement to NBC News.
Ellis and a spokesperson for Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening.
A state grand jury in Arizona also Wednesday indicted as “false voters” and top Trump aides as part of a plan to keep Trump in power after his 2020 election defeat. Some names are redacted; Meadows, Giuliani and Ellis are among those who have been indicted but not yet served.
Trump is not charged but is described as “unindicted co-conspirator 1” in the indictment.
Trump, Giuliani, Meadows and Ellis were indicted along with 15 others indicted in Georgia last year related to alleged attempts to keep Trump in power after he lost the election to Biden in 2020. Trump, Meadows and Giuliani have pleaded not guilty. Elise is just one of four co-defendants originally charged in this indictment who have pleaded guilty.
Special counsel Jack Smith also filed federal charges against Trump. trace to overturn his election defeat in 2020. Although he is not named in the indictment, Giuliani is most of themalone the first of six unindicted co-conspirators in the case. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
