A Michigan judge dismissed criminal charges Tuesday against a group of Republicans accused of trying to falsely certify President Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election, saying that because they seriously believed him, there was no intent to commit fraud. The decision is a major blow to prosecutors as similar cases in four other states have been muddied with setbacks.
District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons said in a court hearing that the 15 Republicans accused will not face trial. The case has dragged through the courts since Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced the charges over two years ago.
Each member of the group, which included a few high-profile members of the Republican Party in Michigan, faced eight charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The top felony charges carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
The effort to secure fake electors was central to the federal indictment against Trump that was abandoned earlier this year, shortly before Trump began his second term.
Other news we’re following today:
New Chicago ICE campaign prompts confusion over Trump’s plans for federal intervention: Blasting so-called sanctuary laws in Chicago and Illinois, the latest immigration operation by Homeland Security targets people without legal permission to live in the U.S. who have criminal records. The move stirred up fresh confusion and anxiety, with residents on alert for Trump’s repeated promise of federal intervention.Trump calls Epstein birthday drawing a ‘dead issue’: After House Democrats released a picture of a birthday message, which features the drawing of a curvaceous woman, purportedly signed by Trump for Jeffrey Epstein, Republicans rushed to call the image fraudulent. Trump, who previously said he did not write such a letter, said Tuesday he wouldn’t “comment on something that’s a dead issue.” Trump sued the Wall Street Journal and its owner over a report that described such a page in detail.Supreme Court hands Trump wins in immigration, FTC oversight: The high court on Monday cleared the way for federal agents to conduct sweeping immigration operations in Los Angeles, lifting an order that barred agents from stopping people based on indiscriminate factors like race, language, job, or location. Also Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts OK’d the firing of FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, after the Justice Department argued that Trump can remove commissioners at the FTC and other executive branch agencies without cause.