Fake Trump electors face 'very serious charges' that go 'to the core of our democracy': ex-prosecutor

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced felony charges on Tuesday against 16 people who signed on as fake "electors" fraudulently asserting former President Donald Trump carried the state in 2020 — essentially accusing them of issuing forgeries to deceive the public.

These charges, which are separate from special counsel Jack Smith's criminal investigation of January 6 or Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation of election interference in that state, could be incredibly serious, argued former federal prosecutor Laura Coates on CNN's "The Situation Room" that evening.

"These 16 could wind up in jail for years," said anchor Wolf Blitzer. "How significant are these charges?"

"Very," said Coates. "Remember, in states, these are the ones whose electors, based on the popular state votes, will then elect a President of the United States. It relies on faith, it relies on credibility that what a voter believes will happen once their vote is cast, and they're compiled, will actually happen."

"These are very serious charges," Coates continued. "Forgery, the uttering and publishing — a fancy way of saying you've endeavored to pass it off as a real thing. This goes to the core of our democracy."

The notable aspect of it, added Coates, is that "this is a state level prosecution and happening there as opposed to waiting for what's happening for say, a Jack Smith or special counsel or DOJ, this is going in that capacity. It tells you how wide-ranging it is, how specific it is, and how, for many people, the idea of what happened three years ago is not in the rearview mirror. It's very much ahead of the attorney general's focus."

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