Attorney General Aaron Ford has filed a notice of appeal asking the Nevada Supreme Court to review the dismissal of criminal charges against six Republicans accused of submitting a fraudulent certificate awarding the state's electoral votes to Donald Trump after the 2020 election. Ford's office filed the appeal in District Court on Oct. 12, roughly two months after Judge Mary Kay Holthus dismissed the case.
Holthus ruled that prosecutors had not sufficiently proved the charges and criticized the state for failing to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. She wrote that the evidence of fraudulent intent was minimal and that the omission of favorable evidence substantially impacted the integrity of the grand jury's determination.
The defendants include Nevada Republican Party Chair Michael McDonald, former Clark County Republican Party Chair Jesse Law, Eileen Rice, James Degraffenreid, Durward Hindle III, and Shawn Meehan. After the November 2020 election, which Joe Biden won by about 30,000 votes, the group gathered outside the Legislature, signed a certificate purporting to give Trump Nevada's six Electoral College votes, and sent it to officials.
Ford stated Monday that his office's job is to seek justice and that they believe the District Court's decision was wrong. McDonald's attorney, Richard Wright, previously suggested the prosecution was politically motivated. A parallel criminal case filed in Carson City was also dismissed.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
English (US)·