Nevada Attorney General seeks to overturn ruling on fake electors case by appealing to state supreme court
LAS VEGAS — The chief prosecutor in Nevada has requested the state Supreme Court to uphold the charges against six Republicans accused of submitting a fraudulent certificate to Congress declaring Donald Trump as the victor of the state’s 2020 election.
Authorities have stated that this was part of a wider conspiracy in seven key states to maintain the former president in office despite losing to Democrat Joe Biden. Legal actions have also been initiated in Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona.
At the same time, the outcome of Nevada’s alleged false electors case remains uncertain.
A written order issued by Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus on Friday night affirmed her previous ruling that Las Vegas was not the appropriate venue for the trial, leading to the dismissal of the charges.
A representative for Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a member of the Democratic party, confirmed in a statement on Saturday that they have officially appealed the judge’s decision.
“We are confident in our case and eager to see these individuals brought to account for their deeds and face justice,” the statement reads.
The accused include state GOP head Michael McDonald; Jesse Law, chairman of the Clark County GOP; Jim DeGraffenreid, member of the national party committee; Shawn Meehan, committee member for national and Douglas County; Jim Hindle, clerk of Storey County; and Eileen Rice, a party member from the Lake Tahoe region.
They were formally accused by a grand jury in Las Vegas in December, right before the expiration of a three-year statute of limitations. Each individual is facing charges of presenting a false document for filing and circulating a forged document, which are felonies punishable by up to four or five years in prison.
One of the defense attorneys, Monti Levy, expressed confidence on Saturday that Judge Holthus made the right call and expects the dismissal motion to be upheld.
The defense counsel argued that Ford initiated the case against their clients improperly by convening a grand jury in Democratic-leaning Las Vegas instead of a city in northern Nevada where the alleged offenses took place.
Ford’s office, on the other hand, argued that “no single county encompasses the entirety of these offenses.”
As of Saturday, it was unclear from court documents whether there had been any scheduling of oral arguments before the Nevada Supreme Court. Additionally, the court’s clerk did not respond to an email seeking further details.
Trump was defeated by Biden by a margin of over 30,000 votes in Nevada. An investigation by then-Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a member of the Republican party, uncovered no substantial proof of widespread voter fraud in the state.