Michigan Republican Party Co-Chairwoman Meshawn Maddock said former President Donald Trump’s campaign had encouraged the effort to challenge the 2020 results by a group of 16 Republican electors, according to an audio recording obtained by CNN.
“We fought to seat the electors,” Maddock said, according to the recording. “The Trump campaign asked us to do that.”
News of the recording came two days after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told reporters she believes there’s “absolutely” enough evidence to bring criminal charges against the 16 Republicans who signed the false certificate on Dec. 14, 2020.
Nessel, a Democrat and the state’s top law enforcement official, decided to refer the investigation to federal prosecutors because of jurisdictional reasons. But she didn’t rule out bringing charges at the state level in the future.
“I can’t comment on the investigation at this point,” Nessel said when asked if any of the GOP electors were cooperating with her probe. “I will say that, again, I feel confident that we have enough evidence to charge should we decide to pursue that.”
Democrat Joe Biden won Michigan’s 2020 presidential election over Trump by 154,000 votes or 3 percentage points. The outcome was certified by the Board of State Canvassers on Nov. 23, 2020, meaning Michigan’s 16 electoral votes went to Biden under state law.
However, on Dec. 14, 2020, as the 16 Democratic presidential electors met inside the state Capitol to officially cast their votes, 16 Republicans met at state GOP headquarters to sign a certificate, claiming to cast votes for Trump.
The Republicans who signed the document, including Maddock and the state’s Republican national committeewoman, Kathy Berden, inaccurately claimed they were the “duly elected and qualified electors,” according to their certificate.
They sent the certificate to the National Archives as part of an attempt in multiple states to impede Biden’s victory before the country’s electoral votes were counted and certified during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
Nessel announced last week that she referred the investigation to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Michigan. Federal authorities will be better able to examine if there was a multi-state conspiracy involving the electors’ certificates, Nessel said.
Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot, another of the 16 GOP electors who signed the certificate claiming Trump had won the state, previously told The Detroit News that he was asked to show up in Lansing and sign a document. The clerk said he believed he had gotten a call from an attorney working on behalf of Trump in Washington, D.C.
Grot said there was a possibility the election result was incorrect.
“I was doing my job,” he said.
The Michigan Republican Party has bashed Nessel’s comments about the GOP electors.
“This is nothing more than political prosecution of convenience led by Dana Nessel,” said Gustavo Portela, the state GOP’s communications director. “Dana Nessel is playing political games with people’s lives and livelihoods for the sake of scoring political points ahead of an election.”
CNN has an audio recording with the Michigan state GOP Chair saying, “We fought to seat the electors. The Trump campaign asked us to do that." https://t.co/a9gJjCbNSN
Ex-whistleblower says group enlisted his help to seek potentially damaging information on two members of Congress to prod them to back audits in key states Trump lost
Michael Flynn, Trump’s disgraced former national security adviser. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP
FBI agents and the House panel investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol have both learned of an alleged plan by allies of retired army Lt Gen Michael Flynn to gather “intelligence” on top Republicans to “move” them to back election audits in key states Trump lost, said ex-whistleblower Everett Stern who talked to the panel and the FBI.
Stern, who runs the intelligence firm Tactical Rabbit and is a Republican vying for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, in multiple interviews with the Guardian said two Flynn associates with the rightwing Patriot Caucus group enlisted his help in April in a scheme to seek potentially damaging information on two Republican members of Congress to prod them to back an audit of the 2020 vote that Joe Biden won.
Stern told the Guardian he spent several hours in November telling House panel investigators about the alleged drive by Flynn associates who sought campaign finance and other dirt on Pennsylvania’s Senator Pat Toomey and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick to win their support for an audit to bolster Trump’s debunked charges that Biden’s win was fraudulent.
A long-shot candidate to succeed the retiring Toomey, Stern said he alerted the FBI in June when he learned more details of the bizarre drive by Flynn allies to specifically target the two Republicans, both of whom backed impeaching Trump after the January 6 insurrection.
The efforts by Flynn’s Patriot Caucus allies were launched after Trump failed to block Biden from taking office, and are part of a wider drive by Trump loyalists and Flynn to help boost Trump’s political fortunes via more state audits nationwide into false charges that Biden’s win was rigged, and elect like-minded candidates in key states to top electoral offices.
Stern provided text messages, emails and other documents revealing he had multiple contacts with one of the Patriot Caucus members, Velma Anne Ruth, and two other influential Flynn allies, Houston real estate mogul Al Hartman and former army Green Beret Ivan Raiklin, who were pushing audits in several key states.
Ivan Raiklin, a former army Green Beret, allegedly pushed audits in several key states that Biden won. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters
Stern said Flynn’s Patriot Caucus associates first approached him in Pennsylvania for possible help after an April Republican party event, and soon after told Stern in phone calls they worked with Flynn and the Patriot Caucus, and planned to recruit “former domestic and foreign intelligence officials” to facilitate their scheme.
The plan by Flynn’s allies alarmed Stern, but as a former whistleblower involved in exposing a large bank money laundering scandal by HSBC in 2012, he told the Guardian he decided to play along for a few months to glean information to expose the Trump allies’ scheme.
Stern expressed dismay that Flynn’s Patriot Caucus associates “don’t understand that Biden is the president. They wanted to collect information through Tactical Rabbit and my campaign” to turn up the heat on Toomey and Fitzpatrick to back an audit which Stern viewed as potentially “extortion”.
Stern gave the Guardian a voice mail he received in which Hartman talked about leaning on moderate Republican “Rinos” in Pennsylvania to gain support for an audit of that state’s vote which Biden won by over 80,000, and Hartman said a similar drive in Michigan was needed.
Stern said Hartman wanted to use Tactical Rabbit’s intelligence gathering tools and his campaign to dig up potentially embarrassing campaign finance information and other dirt about the Pennsylvania members, plus Republican political figures in Michigan who were also resisting audits.
Hartman and Raiklin also talked with Stern about meeting Flynn, Trump’s disgraced ex-national security adviser, and proposed compensating him for his information via campaign donations, said Stern.
In an April exchange of Hartman text messages seen by the Guardian, Hartman asked a Flynn scheduler to help “connect” Flynn with Stern whose Senate campaign and credentials he touted highly, calling Stern a “strong believer”, in their cause.
Although Stern tipped off the FBI in June about what he deemed a threat to national security and he said he met with agents again in November, it’s not clear if his allegations are still being pursued.
Flynn associates allegedly sought campaign finance and other dirt on Senator Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock
Stern’s allegations have echoes of Flynn’s scheming with Trump and other loyalists in late 2020 to thwart Biden’s win, efforts that included a White House meeting with Trump where Flynn proposed declaring martial law in several states Biden won and then rerunning the election there.
In November, the House panel investigating the January 6 Capitol attack subpoenaed Flynn who Trump had pardoned post-election even though he had pled guilty twice to lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation. In response to the subpoena to testify and turn over documents, Flynn sued the panel but a judge quickly dismissed his lawsuit last month.
John Sipher, who was in the CIA’s clandestine services for 28 years, shares Stern’s view of Flynn, who he knew in the military and shortly thereafter. “I am appalled by what he has become,” Sipher said in an email.
Asked if he thought the FBI was pursuing Stern’s charges, Sipher said: “I would hope and assume they are taking this seriously.”
While Fitzpatrick and Toomey were the main “targets” Stern said other Pennsylvania officials including judges were also being targeted by the Flynn allies as they sought to ramp up pressure for an audit in the state.
Neither Fitzpatrick or Toomey’s offices replied to multiple requests for comment.
The Patriot Caucus, a coalition of Patriot and other rightwing groups in some two dozen states with which Raiklin and Hartman have ties, according to Stern and documents, has worked with Trump loyalists like Flynn to push audits in key states Biden won, and backed Trump allies for governor, and other top posts in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona Trump lost.
Flynn himself on 7 January publicly endorsed another Trump ally and election audit promoter, Doug Mastriano for governor in Pennsylvania, at a campaign rally also attended by Raiklin.
Flynn has also endorsed two Trump backed candidates in Arizona: Kari Lake, an ex-Fox News figure, for governor, and Mark Finchem, a state representative who attended the January 6 Stop the Steal rally, for secretary of state.
To coordinate national efforts, Raiklin and Hartman on 3 July spearheaded one of a series of “Election Integrity” calls with Trump loyalists, lawyers and donors to discuss the status of audits efforts in several states and other plans to cast doubt on Biden’s win, according to an Arizona senate document shared by the watchdog group American Oversight.
“Join us every second Saturday for SITUATION UPDATES and COLLABORATION from active leaders in the election remediation process at state level – attorneys with Mike Lindell and Patrick Byrne, data analysts, state legislators, gubernatorial candidates, and grassroots activists whose goal is completing a cyber forensic audit in their state,” the Arizona document reads.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania, backed impeaching Trump after the January 6 insurrection. Photograph: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
A who’s who list of Trump loyalists and groups invited to join these calls included the America Project and America’s Future, both of which Flynn played key roles with as they poured some $2m into a discredited audit of Arizona’s largest county, plus the Patriot Caucus’ Velma Anne Ruth, Finchem and Byrne, the millionaire chief financier of the Arizona audit.
Hartman in emails with Stern obtained by the Guardian invited him in June to attend a religious far-right meeting known as Ziklag in Dallas where he could meet separately with Flynn. Stern said Hartman told him a “private meeting was going to be arranged with Flynn” who Stern was told wanted to meet him.
After indicating to Hartman he would attend, Stern opted to cancel at the last minute after his lawyer indicated there could be legal repercussions from a meeting with Flynn. “I thought it was extremely dangerous to meet with a three star general who I believed had broken the law.
“They planned to give my campaign funds to help me” develop damaging information on Toomey and Fitzpatrick, Stern claimed. “It was like a wink, wink. Hartman is the man behind the curtain. He’s an operative and financier,” promoting audits.
Hartman has long been a donor to the right. He is on the advisory council for the pro-Trump Turning Point USA and has been active in the conservative donor network led by oil billionaire Charles Koch.
Raiklin, an army reserve officer who reportedly has known Flynn since 2014, is facing an internal army reserve investigation into possible violations of rules barring partisan political activity, according to a military official who spoke to Reuters last month.
Raiklin in December 2020 outlined a wild scheme in tweets and a podcast to thwart Biden’s win, charging a vast conspiracy that included Pence, intelligence, China and Big Tech, as Reuters reported. Raiklin told Trump to “activate the emergency broadcast system” and deployed the hashtag #FightLikeAFlynn, stressing that “we the people are going to force this plan on them”.
Neither Hartman or Raiklin replied to multiple calls seeking comment.
A Flynn scheduler did not respond to questions for the story.
Velma Anne Ruth with the Patriot Caucus, who was photographed with Stern at a June event in Pennsylvania where she wore a tank top that said General Flynn, called Stern’s charges “delusional, fabricated and defamatory”, in a text message. Stern said he shared the photo and other documents involving exchanges he had with Ruth with the FBI.
Senior ex-prosecutors and intelligence officials say Stern’s allegations merit law enforcement attention.
“Stern’s allegations suggest serious crimes,” said ex-prosecutor Paul Rosenzweig, who worked on Ken Starr’s team during the impeachment of Bill Clinton. “If his allegations were corroborated by extrinsic evidence they clearly would warrant investigation.”
Former CIA official Sipher, who has spoken with Stern before, said: “Everett is someone with a strong sense of right and wrong, and willing to suffer the consequences of doing the right thing. We would be better served to have more people like Everett in public life.”
Florida State Capitol building (Photo Credit: State of Florida)
TALLAHASSEE – A Republican majority Florida House Education & Employment Committee passed HB 1557, the Parental Rights in Education bill, colloquially referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill advancing the measure to the full House.
HB 1557 and its companion Senate bill SB 1834, would ban classroom discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, erasing LGBTQ identity, history, and culture — as well as LGBTQ students themselves.
The bill also has provisions that appear to undermine LGBTQ support in schools and include vague parental notification requirements which could effectively “out” LGBTQ-identifying students to their parents without their consent.
“The Trevor Project’s research has found that LGBTQ youth who learned about LGBTQ issues or people in classes at school had 23% lower odds of reporting a suicide attempt in the past year. This bill will erase young LGBTQ students across Florida, forcing many back into the closet by policing their identity and silencing important discussions about the issues they face,” said Sam Ames, Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project. “LGBTQ students deserve their history and experiences to be reflected in their education, just like their peers.”
In an email to the Blade, Brandon J. Wolf, the Press Secretary for Equality Florida noted; “Governor DeSantis’ march toward his own personal surveillance state continues. Today, the Don’t Say Gay bill, a piece of legislation to erase discussion of LGBTQ people from schools in Florida, passed its first committee and became another component of an agenda designed to police us in our classrooms, doctor’s offices, and workplaces. Make no mistake — LGBTQ people are your neighbors, family members, and friends. We are a normal, healthy part of society and we will not be erased.”
This will kill kids, @RonDeSantisFL. You are purposefully making your state a harder place for LGBTQ kids to survive in. In a national survey (@TrevorProject), 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide last year. Now they can't talk to their teachers? https://t.co/VtfFLPlsn3
The Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that more than 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth.
According to a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of The Trevor Project, 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth — and two-thirds of all LGBTQ youth (66%) — say recent debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health.
When asked about proposed legislation that would require schools to tell a student’s parent or guardian if they request to use a different name/pronoun or if they identify as LGBTQ at school, 56% of transgender and nonbinary youth said it made them feel angry, 47% felt nervous and/or scared, 45% felt stressed, and more than 1 in 3 felt sad.
The Florida House is moving to ban LGBTQ history and inclusive conversations in the classroom. They’re targeting the identities of CHILDREN.
We need to show students that they belong and that there is power in loving yourself.
The Chambersburg Borough Council is poised to on Monday vote to rescind an anti-discrimination ordinance in what is widely being seen as a politically driven move, coming only four months after the borough ratified the ordinance in October. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com
A central Pennsylvania borough is poised to become the first municipality to repeal anti-discrimination safeguards that protect residents against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender identity.
The plan by Chambersburg Borough Council to vote Monday to rescind the anti-discrimination ordinance comes only four months after the borough ratified the ordinance in October.
Proponents of the ordinance say the newly installed conservative majority on the borough council is wielding its muscle, invoking the idea of a voter mandate to rescind an ordinance that was extensively vetted and researched last year.
“I don’t know of any reasons for repealing it other than a political move,” said Alice Elia, a Democrat and the former Chambersburg borough council president. “This issue should not be politicized. It’s an issue of justice and having equal protection for everybody in our community. It shouldn’t be a political or a Democratic or Republican issue. This should be something we are all concerned about.”
The ordinance, which extends protections against discrimination to gay, transgender or genderqueer people in employment, housing and public accommodations, was passed in October by the then-Democratic majority council.
The political makeup of the council, however, changed with the November municipal election, which ushered in a 7-3 Republican majority.
Allen Coffman, a Republican and newly installed borough council president, is clear on why he opposes the ordinance.
“All of us that ran in this election to be on council we think we got a mandate from the people,” he said. “People we talked to when we were campaigning did not like this ordinance at all. I don’t know what the vote will be, but I have a pretty good idea.”
The council last year led a three-month exploratory process to fact find and delve into the issues. The process was accessible to the public.
“I felt it was a very open, very educational process that allowed people to ask questions,” Elia said. “It wasn’t rushed.”
A few weeks ago, immediately after installation of the new members, the council revoked a measure that would have assembled a commission to oversee discrimination complaints, instead voting in favor of a measure to repeal the ordinance.
“It was kind of a take back Chambersburg and let’s go back to the 1950s the way we all liked it,” said Sandra Mailey, chairwoman of the Franklin County Democratic Committee. “Everybody in Chambersburg didn’t feel that way.”
Although Franklin County is predominantly Republican leaning, Mailey said that what is playing out in the borough — the county seat — mirrors other nationwide trends.
“I think it’s a national strategy of the Republican party to get to the base and get to local government to take over from grassroots groups and try to maintain power that way,” she said.
What is arguably being rushed, Elia said, is the upcoming repeal vote by a newly elected council whose members, with a few exceptions, are serving in public office for the first time.
“My concern is that it’s a big decision to overturn something like this,” Elia said. “It hasn’t happened before and for that to be something that is first on the table for people who have never held a position like this is a big thing to do.”
Coffman said the ordinance serves no purpose and is redundant, noting that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission already is tasked with handling discrimination complaints from commonwealth residents.
“There are no penalties, no fines,” he said. “There’s nothing that the ordinance can make someone do. The most they can hope for is that the committee request the two parties to sit down with a counselor or mediator and talk about it. Quite frankly there is nothing that compels them to. There’s no teeth in this.”
Coffman, who was re-elected to the council as president, last year voted against the ordinance. He said he planned to vote to repeal it on Monday.
“My view of government is to simplify it and not make it more complicated,” he said. “If you have no guarantee that you can get a resolution at the local level, it’s obviously going to go to the state. To me we are stalling. If you have a good case, it’s good enough to go to the state and let them make the decision.”
If Chambersburg succeeds in repealing the ordinance, it would mark the first time an LGBTQ inclusive law is revoked in Pennsylvania. To date, 70 municipalities, including Gettysburg, Shippensburg, Carlisle, Camp Hill and Harrisburg, have ratified such ordinances.
Pennsylvania is one of 27 states that have no explicit statewide laws protecting people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations.
“Rushing to repeal it to fit the politics of the moment would be an exceedingly bad move,” said Preston Heldibridle, executive director of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, an advocacy group for transgender youth. “This goes beyond politics. This is a neighborhood issue and we support all those who live, work and choose to raise their families in the borough.”
Heldibridle, whose group this week hosted virtual town halls on the issue, said the ordinance addresses gaps in state and federal law, specifically listing sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. The Chambersburg ordinance also extends protections to veterans.
Heldibridle noted that anti-discrimination ordinances have broad support, including from education and economic stakeholders. During Thursday’s town hall, he noted that entities such as WellSpan, Penn State, Wilson College and Giant have come out in support of the ordinance.
“There is unprecedented support for equal rights protection for the LGBTQ community under the law,” Hildebrand said.
This week, ahead of Monday’s vote, several educators, faith leaders and business community members voiced their support for the ordinance and their opposition to its repeal.
The Rev. Renata Moseley Harper of the John Wesley A.M.E Zion Church in Chambersburg, invoked her faith in supporting the ordinance.
“I support this non-discrimination ordinance specifically because of what Jesus said was the greatest commandment,” she said. “To love God with all our heart, soul, might and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. How wide is our circle of neighbors? Well according to Jesus Christ, everyone is a potential neighbor and due our love and compassion.”
Moseley Harper, who is Black, said she was no stranger to discrimination and had as a former resident of the borough been denied services at restaurants and housing because of her race.
“The question that we have before us as a faith community is how do we want to be known?” she said. “What kind of people are we going to be? Folks who extend this protection to our neighbors and then yank it back? Would not we rather be known as a community that extends love, compassion and protections to all citizens?”
State Rep. Wendi Thomas, a Republican from Bucks County, excoriated the idea that an anti-discrimination ordinance faced repeal.
“What year are we in?” she said in a written statement read at a Pennsylvania Youth Congress town hall this week. “We are 22 years into the 21st century. We are past the time we should allow any fellow Pennsylvanians to be treated as second-class citizens whether for their gender identity or sexual orientation. Yet here we are in 2022 having to talk about fairness for all fellow human beings.”
Thomas noted that LGBTQ anti-discrimination legislation has long stalled in the Legislature.
“To my fellow public officials until the General Assembly passes this legislation, it is up to you,” she said. “You are the only ones who can provide exclusive protection for LGBTQ people. We can never be fully free, if some of us are still treated like second-class citizens.”
Coffman rebuked the idea that the borough needs the ordinance. He noted that council last year reprimanded him for what was considered a racially inappropriate email that he sent to a constituent.
“I don’t consider our community a racist or bigot community,” he said. “Do I have a personal interest in this? Absolutely.”
A Republican Oklahoma representative, and former Christian Bible bookstore owner, has filed a bill that would make the Holy Bible the state’s official book. House Bill 3890 was crafted by Rep. Tammy Townley, R-Ardmore. The bill will be taken up for consideration by Oklahoma State Legislators on Monday, Feb. 7. If passed, the Holy Bible would become the state’s official book starting Nov. 1, 2022. Lawmakers in Tennessee and Texas have filed similar bills over the last few years.
“We are people of great faith,” Townley said in a press release. “The Holy Bible is an integral part of numerous faiths and is deeply important to many Oklahomans. Even when we don’t always agree with each other, we always know that we have a foundation higher than politics that we can rely on to remain unshakeable when times are tough.” Oklahoma does not currently have a state book.
A Republican Oklahoma representative, and former Christian Bible bookstore owner, has filed a bill that would make the Holy Bible the state's official book. https://t.co/7clt8GMLJE
The voting rights bill currently being considered by the Senate would standardize election laws across the country and restore provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But thanks to two Democratic senators, it doesn’t look like it’s going to pass. What does that mean for voting rights?
It means red states can continue to make voting harder for black voters and other minorities. They can decrease dropboxes in black districts, hours to vote, days to vote, and where people can vote. They can make mailing voting applications illegal. They can make it illegal to hand a bottle of water to a voter in line. They can make laws where legislatures overrule voting boards. They can eliminate offices where people get identifications in majority-black counties. They can limit voting by mail. And they’re doing all of this on a lie. There was no massive voter fraud in the 2020 presidential…
The White House may not admit it, but you know you kinda messed up when you have to clarify the president’s statements the day after. The Trump White House had to do it on a near-daily basis. Remember when they had to tell us the president (sic) was NOT endorsing drinking bleach or cramming light bulbs up your ass to cure COVID? Good times.
But, yes. President Biden messed up. First, he shouldn’t have given a two-hour press conference. Anyone who speaks for two hours is gonna screw something up.
Republicans jumped on the speech before they knew what to gripe about. They always accuse Biden of being mentally impaired and that his speeches are incoherent rambles…but they must not be listening to the same speeches we are. It’s ridiculous to have to point out that Biden is clear and informed on the issues. Also, these people supported the guy…
Politicians make gaffes. Some examples are Gary Johnson’s “What is Aleppo?” Rick Perry unable to name the third department he’d eliminate (which he was later appointed to head by Trump). George W. Bush’s “Fool me once, shame on you…fool me…can’t get fooled again.” President Obama’s “57 states,” which Republicans still can’t let go. And then there’s Joe Biden in the 2008 campaign when he said then-Senator and candidate Barack Obama was “articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” Every politician has gaffes, but what Senate Minority Leader and anti-Voting Rights goon Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday was NOT a gaffe.
When asked what he’d tell black voters who are afraid the Senate’s failure to pass the Voting Rights Act will prevent them from voting in this November’s mid-terms, Mitch said, “If you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high percentage as Americans.”
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