Former President Donald Trumphis former chief of staff Mark Weidenand his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani are unindicted co-conspirators in a “fake voter” scheme in Michigan tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a state investigator testified Wednesday.
At a hearing in connection with 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 attorney general’s office of Michigan. Dana Nessel‘s research.
Howard Shock, a special agent in the AG’s office who was cross-examined, responded in the affirmative when the names of Trump, Meadows and Giuliani were read. Shock also responded ‘yes’ then former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis‘ name was read.
Last year, Nessel’s office filed charges against 16 people who signed paperwork falsely claiming Trump’s victory in the state over Democrat Joe Biden.
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday that the former president was targeted as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and that Biden’s Democratic allies “further abused and abused the power of their offices in a no-holds-barred effort.” meddling in the presidential election.”
Ted Goodman, a spokesman for Giuliani, said in a statement Wednesday that Giuliani “is proud to stand up for the countless Americans who have raised legitimate concerns surrounding the 2020 U.S. presidential election.”
An attorney for Meadows suggested that Shock’s statement was not factual, saying that someone “saying that doesn’t make it so.”
“Sounds like an opinion, not a fact,” attorney George Terwilliger said in a statement to NBC News.
Ellis and a spokesperson for Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment Wednesday evening.
Trump, Giuliani, Meadows and Ellis were indicted last year along with 15 others on charges in Georgia related to alleged efforts to keep Trump in office after his 2020 election loss to Biden. Trump, Meadows and Giuliani have pleaded not guilty in that case. . Ellis is just one of four co-defendants who were originally charged in that indictment and pleaded guilty.
Special counsel Jack Smith has also filed federal charges against Trump, alleging he plotted to overturn his 2020 election loss. Although not named in the indictment, Giuliani is likely the first of six unindicted co-conspirators in that case. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
