Excellent historical timeline from 2020 election night until today (via The WaPost).
Trump’s “fake electors” plan will be the focal point for the next January 6 public hearing (June 21, 2022).
To
date, the case against Trump is strong and it should equate to his prosecution,
trial, conviction, and a very long prison term.
Nov. 3:
Election Day 2020. Trump leads in key states on election night. But the
addition of mail ballots to the totals severely threatens his lead and he in
fact loses.
Nov. 4:
Former Trump energy secretary Rick Perry (R-TX) texts White House chief of
staff Mark Meadows with the idea that: “States Trump lost that have Republican
legislatures could just send their own electors to vote and have it go to
the U.S. Supreme Court. AGRESSIVE STRATEGY.” [sic]
Nov. 5:
Donald Trump Jr. also begins floating such ideas, citing GOP control of state
legislatures and the U.S. Senate writing to Meadows: “It’s very simple. We have multiple paths. We control them all.” (Trump Jr.'s
attorney later said the idea “likely originated from someone else and was
forwarded.”)
Trump-allied conservative lawyer Cleta Mitchell writes to
Eastman suggesting that he begin to look at alternate electors saying: “John —
what would you think of producing a legal memo outlining the constitutional
role of state legislators in designating electors? A movement is stirring. But
needs constitutional support.”
Nov. 6: Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) also suggests GOP state legislatures could send Trump electors despite the election results, while acknowledging that the idea is “highly controversial.”
Meadows responded: I love it. Meadows also responded to a later
similar message saying: Yes. Have a team on it.
Nov. 7: Joe
Biden is projected the winner.
Nov. 17:
Trump calls the two GOP canvassers in Detroit’s Wayne County, MI —
that he falsely flagged as having illegal “vote dumps for Biden.” They first rescind
the certification but, then sign off on it.
Nov. 18:
Trump-allied lawyer Kenneth Chesebro sends a memo to Trump’s lead attorney in WI
arguing for an alternate-elector push on December 14, (the
deadline for electors writing): “It may seem odd that the electors pledged to
Trump and Pence might meet and cast their votes on December 14 even if, at that
juncture, the Trump-Pence ticket is behind in the vote count, and no
certificate of election has been issued in favor of Trump and Pence. However, a
fair reading of the federal statutes suggests that this is a reasonable course
of action.”
This is one of the earliest indicators that Trump allies
viewed January 6 rather than December 14 as their deadline.
Nov. 19:
Trump invites high-ranking Republican state legislators from MI to
the White House in an apparent effort to pressure them on the state’s election
results.
Later in November:
Trump and Rudy Giuliani call AZ House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers (R) in an
attempt to block the certification of the state’s results. Bowers declines to
go along with it.
Nov. 28: By this date, Eastman has written his memo on electors. But it focuses on ones who would actually be chosen by state legislatures.
The memo states that “the
constitutional power to decide on the method for choosing electors remains
exclusively with state legislatures.” A copy is sent to White House staff with
the note “For POTUS” — suggesting Trump might have been clued in on the effort
early on.
Nov. 30: AZ
Gov. Doug Ducey (R) apparently receives a call from the White House while certifying
his state’s election results. He ignores the call.
Late November-early
December: The White House Counsel’s Office tells Meadows and Giuliani
that the alternate elector plan is not legally sound, (Committee testimony
from Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson).
Early in December:
Trump calls PA House Speaker Bryan Cutler (R) twice to talk
about overturning that state’s results. Cutler says the legislature can’t do
so, according to an aide.
Dec. 5:
Trump calls GA Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to pressure him to have
the legislature overturn that state’s results.
Dec. 6:
Meadows references Chesebro’s memo in an email to Trump campaign aide Jason
Miller, saying: “We just need to have someone coordinating the electors for
states.”
Dec. 7:
Eastman forwards Chesebro’s memo. (The recipients’ names are
redacted.) A CA Federal Court (Judge Carter) ruled that Eastman and Trump
likely broke the law and that this forwarded email showed the plot was fully formed and actionable as early as December 7, 2020
— a week before the December 14 elector deadline.
Dec. 9:
Chesebro concedes in another memo that it will be difficult for fake electors in some key states to
comply with state law, because those laws carry specific requirements for
how the electors would be selected.
Dec. 11:
Trump’s campaign acknowledges its push for alternate electors in a footnote
in a legal filing to the WI Supreme Court.
Then the U.S. Supreme Court dismisses a desperate bid led by TX
AG Ken Paxton (R) to overturn the election results in four key states, severely
curtailing any legal path for the Trump campaign. Even Justices Samuel A. Alito
Jr. and Clarence Thomas say they wouldn’t have granted the relief sought by TX which
was to invalidate the electors in those states.
Dec. 13:
Eastman pushes for fake electors arguing that state legislatures could validate
them later saying in an email: “The electors absolutely need to meet. If the
Legislature gets some spine … those electoral votes will be available to be
certified by the legislature.”
Chesebro emails Giuliani arguing that Pence, as president of
the Senate, might have the authority to choose between slates of electors.
A Trump campaign aide tells fake electors meeting the next
day to operate with complete secrecy and discretion.
Dec. 14:
The fake electors convene in seven states: AZ, GA, MI, NV, NM, PA, and WI. Some
falsely declare they are duly elected (raising questions about whether they broke the law), while in a couple of states
they make their status as electors contingent on the election results being
overturned. In some states, they fail to meet the legal requirements outlined
by Chesebro (i.e. failing to meet in the Capitol in MI and not having the
secretary of state present in NV).
Trump aide Stephen Miller cites the fake electors, saying: We are going to send those results up to Congress. They are
initially pitched as precautionary — in place just in case courts later
overturn the results.
Dec. 19:
Eastman concedes to an activist that the fake electors will be dead on arrival in Congress, because they weren’t certified
by state legislatures, writing: “The textual claim that the ‘executive’
certification would prevail in such an instance over the legislature-certified slate
is contrary to Article II of the Constitution.”
Dec. 23: Despite his email four days prior, Eastman tells Trump advisers that Pence could still try to use the fake electors.
He sends a two-page memo outlining how to use them to overturn
the election, writing: “The fact that we have multiple slates of electors
demonstrate the uncertainty of either. That should be enough.”
In outlining the strategy, Eastman concedes Pence would have to disregard a federal law known as the Electoral
Count Act.
Dec. 28: At
the DOJ Jeffrey Clark, who pushed Trump’s fraud claims internally,
circulates a draft letter suggesting DOJ would treat the alternate
electors as valid. Fellow DOJ officials reject Clark’s effort.
Dec. 31:
Trump attorney Jenna Ellis echoes the fake-elector plot in a one-page memo.
Jan. 2: Trump
asks GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) in an hour-long phone call: “To
just find enough votes to call Biden’s victory there into question. All I want you
to do is this: I just want you to find 11,780 votes, which is one more
than we have.” (Trump said in the recorded telephone call).
Jan. 3:
After The Washington Post breaks news of the Raffensperger call, Trump tries to
contact Maricopa County (AZ) Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman (R) who declines to return the call, believing he would face
pressure, too.
Despite his prior comments about the fake-elector plan being “dead on arrival,” Eastman by this date has written a fuller six-page memo arguing that Pence should declare the fake electors as legitimate, saying: “There are thus dual slates of electors from 7 states.”
Jan. 6:
Pence declines to treat the alternate electors as valid, clearing the way for
the certification of Biden’s win just hours after Trump supporters rioted at
the Capitol, with many calling out to “Hang Mike Pence.”
Jan. 10:
Eastman concedes in an email to an activist that the fake electors had no legal standing writing: “No
legislature certified them (because governors refused to call them into
session), so they had no authority. Alas.”
My 2 Cents: Great timeline
review from The Washington Post – worth keeping handy. Congrats to them for
that stellar project.
Thanks for stopping by.
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