Nevada fake electors won’t stand trial until January 2025 under judge’s new schedule
Six Republicans accused of falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election will not stand trial until next January
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Six Republicans accused of submitting certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election won’t be standing trial until early next year, a judge determined Monday.
Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus pushed the trial, initially scheduled for this month, back to Jan. 13, 2025, because of conflicting schedules, and set a hearing for next month to consider a bid by the defendants to throw out the indictment.
The defendants are state GOP chairman Michael McDonald, national party committee member Jim DeGraffenreid, Clark County party chair Jesse Law, Storey County clerk Jim Hindle, national and Douglas County committee member Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice, a party member from the Lake Tahoe area.
Each is charged with offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument, felonies that carry penalties of up to four or five years in prison.
Defense attorneys led by McDonald’s lawyer, Richard Wright, contend that Nevada state Attorney General Aaron Ford improperly brought the case in Las Vegas instead of Carson City, the state capital, and failed to present evidence to the grand jury that would have exonerated their clients. They also argue there is insufficient evidence and that their clients had no intent to commit a crime.
Trump lost Nevada in 2020 by more than 30,000 votes to Democratic President Joe Biden. The state’s Democratic electors certified the results in the presence of Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican whose defense of the results as reliable and accurate led the state GOP to censure her. Cegavske later conducted an investigation that found no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud in the state.
Nevada is one of seven presidential battleground states where slates of Republicans falsely certified that Trump, not Biden, had won. Others are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Criminal charges have been brought in Michigan and Georgia. In Wisconsin, 10 Republicans who posed as electors and two attorneys have settled a lawsuit. In New Mexico, the Democratic attorney general announced last month that five Republicans in his state can’t be prosecuted under current state law.
FILE – Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald, right, shakes hands with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Jan. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. Six Republicans accused of falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election will not stand trial until sometime next year. A Nevada judge on Monday, March 4, 2024 pushed back the trial date due to conflicting schedules. The judge also set an April 22 hearing on a bid by McDonald and other defendants to throw out the indictment.
FILE – Nevada Republican Party chairman Michael McDonald talks to guests at a caucus night rally in Las Vegas, Feb. 8, 2024. Six Republicans accused of falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election will not stand trial until sometime next year. A Nevada judge on Monday, March 4, 2024 pushed back the trial date due to conflicting schedules. The judge also set an April 22 hearing on a bid by McDonald and other defendants to throw out the indictment.
Richard Wright, attorney representing Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, appears in court in Las Vegas Monday, March 4, 2024. A judge pushed back to January 2025 the trial date for six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election.
Brian Hardy, attorney representing Vice Chair of the Nevada Republican Committee Durward James Hindle III, appears in court in Las Vegas, Monday, March 4, 2024.
Sigal Chattah, left, attorney representing Guard the Constitution Project Founder Shawn Meehan, and Monti Levy, right, attorney representing Nevada Republican Party delegate Eileen Rice, appear in court in Las Vegas Monday, March 4, 2024. A judge pushed back to January 2025 the trial date for six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election.
Maggie McLetchie, attorney representing Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Law, appears in court in Las Vegas Monday, March 4, 2024. A judge pushed back to January 2025 the trial date for six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election.
Monti Levy, attorney representing Nevada Republican Party delegate Eileen Rice, appears in court in Las Vegas Monday, March 4, 2024. A judge pushed back to January 2025 the trial date for six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election.
Judge Mary Kay Holthus presides in court in Las Vegas Monday, March 4, 2024. The judge pushed back to January 2025 the trial date for six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election.
Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, center, appears in court on a screen in Las Vegas Monday, March 4, 2024. Six Republicans accused of falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of Nevada’s 2020 presidential election will not stand trial until sometime next year. A Nevada judge on Monday, March 4, 2024 pushed back the trial date due to conflicting schedules. The judge also set an April 22 hearing on a bid by defendants — including state GOP chairman Michael McDonald — to throw out the indictment.
