Former President Donald Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani are unindicted co-conspirators in a Michigan “fake voter” scheme tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a state investigator testified Wednesday.
During a hearing related to 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 Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s investigation.
Howard Shock, a special agent from the attorney general’s office who was being questioned, responded affirmatively when the names of Trump, Meadows and Giuliani were read. Shock also responded “yes” when the name of Trump’s former lawyer, Jenna Ellis, was read.
Last year, Nessel’s office filed charges against 16 people who signed documents falsely claiming that Trump defeated Democrat Joe Biden in the state.
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday that Trump was being touted as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and that Biden’s Democratic allies were “further abusing and abusing the power of their positions in an unfettered effort to interfere 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 mean it’s true.”
“This appears to be an opinion, not a fact,” George Terwilliger, the attorney, said in a statement to NBC News.
Ellis and a spokesperson for Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday night.
A state grand jury in Arizona on Wednesday also indicted “fake voters” and top Trump aides in connection with a scheme to keep Trump in office following his 2020 election defeat. Some of the names have been redacted; Meadows, Giuliani and Ellis are among those who have been charged but have not yet been notified.
Trump is not charged, but is described as “unindicted co-conspirator 1” in the indictment.
Trump, Giuliani, Meadows and Ellis were indicted along with 15 other people on charges in Georgia last year related to alleged attempts to keep Trump in office after he lost the election to Biden in 2020. Trump, Meadows and Giuliani have pleaded not guilty. Ellis is just one of four co-defendants originally accused in that indictment who has pleaded guilty.
Special Counsel Jack Smith also filed federal charges alleging that Trump plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Although not named in the indictment, Giuliani is likely the first of six co-conspirators not indicted in that case. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
