The fallout from Donald Trump’s big lie continues to expand. So many of us knew all of this was coming, by the way. And here we are! Continuing to find new information 3 years after the actual 2020 election took place.
We knew that Trump wouldn’t concede. We knew that there would probably be violence. We knew that it would become clear how much our Democracy was at stake, and that we would be investigating all of this nonsense. The latest state to look into Trump’s scheme to steal the election is the great state of Nevada.
I remember sitting up, waiting on pins and needles to hear about the results from Nevada. As a political person, clearly, I think Nevada is such an interesting state. When Trump lost, I was very happy; I thought he would lose, but it’s always better when it’s called. Or was it called? Of course Trump and his cronies didn’t think that Joe Biden won—or at least that’s what they claimed. There’s this whole thing called the electoral college, which is problematic, but the system we have. Conservative goons think that this system means they can ignore the actual vote totals and sought to use the “alternate electors” plan to force Trump back into office. Now, authorities in Nevada are looking into this anti-democratic plan.
Witnesses have been questioned and documents are being collected. At the center of the investigation is Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald. He signed false certificates that declared Trump-supporting electoral college reps to be the state’s official electors to cast votes at the electoral college, even though they weren’t. When a state’s voters come out in favor of a candidate, their electors are supposed to follow the will of the people. I have to say this to keep reminding people that this whole scheme is so insidious. Trump clearly has a fragile ego, but the willingness of people like McDonald to go along with these illegal activities continues to surprise me.
Clark County registrar of voters Joe Gloria told Politico that they were indeed contacted by state investigators regarding the fake elector plan. But so far, the fake electors themselves have not made a public comment. It is not clear whether this investigation will lead to charges. One of the most interesting parts of all of this is that one of the fraudulent electors, Jim DeGraffenreid, had contact with someone you may have heard of by now: Kenneth Chesebro.
Being a TV news addict, I remember the breaking news when Chesebro was indicted in the Georgia RICO case against Trump and his cronies for election interference. I also remember watching when they broke the information that he had pleaded guilty. Having conversations and a relationship with someone like this is not a good sign for DeGraffenreid and others involved in Nevada.
Another important part to this story is, again, how many people support anti-democratic practices. Trump being an unhinged overgrown manchild is not new, but we cannot lose sight of how far the Republican Party as a whole has fallen. For example, when the six Nevada fake electors met to sign the false paperwork, the official Nevada Republican Party praised them. They released a tweet saying, “History made today in Carson City, Nevada, @McDonaldNV leads our electors in casting Nevada’s 6 electoral votes for the winner of Nevada, @realDonaldTrump and @Mike_Pence!” So classy from an official state party.
As we creep closer to the 2024 election, we have to keep reminding the American people how dangerous Trump and his supporters are. The potential Nevada case continues to highlight how far-reaching his plans to thwart Democracy really were, and we cannot let people forget.
(featured image: Alon Skuy/Getty Images)
