James Renner and 15 other Republicans were indicted in July over the scheme.
One of 16 Michigan Republicans accused of serving as “fake electors” for former President Donald Trump after the 2020 presidential election was charged Wednesday in state court with falsely creating or falsifying public records. He testified that he had no intention of doing so.
James Renner and his alleged co-conspirators were charged by the Michigan Attorney General in July with attempting to swap Michigan's electoral votes for Joe Biden with electoral votes for Trump during vote certification. , was charged with crimes including forgery and conspiracy to falsify an election. January 6, 2021.
Renner, whose case was dismissed in October by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for cooperating, said during a hearing Wednesday in Ingham County District Court in Lansing that he believed a crime was being committed. He said he would never have acted. He agreed on December 14, 2020 that he would meet with the other suspects.
Prosecutors say the 16 suspects met “secretly” in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party's headquarters and signed their names on multiple certificates identifying them as duly elected electors. . The forged documents were then submitted to the U.S. Senate and the National Archives.
Asked by his attorney whether he spoke up during the meeting with the remaining so-called “fake electors,” Renner said, “I would have objected because my background is in law enforcement.” .
Renner was asked to testify by prosecutors as part of preliminary hearings this week for some of the people accused of acting as fake electors.
“The purpose was to present a slate of nominees because we were told that the House and Senate members were more capable of accepting our slate compared to the Democratic slate,” Renner said. I testified.
Michigan Assistant Attorney General Carla Crino said at one point in the hearing that the 1960 Hawaii incident was an “inspiration” for so-called sham electors in several states.
Crino's comments come as then-Vice President Richard Nixon, in his capacity as president of the Senate, certified Hawaii's electoral votes awarded to his presidential opponent John F. Kennedy following a recount. It came after a defense attorney mentioned the election. state.
“This was the inspiration for a multi-state criminal conspiracy that was absolutely connected to the Trump campaign,” Crino said.
President Trump has not commented on the Michigan incident.
The state continues to prosecute the remaining 15 defendants. All defendants, including Renner, have pleaded not guilty.
