Nevada Judge Dismisses Case Against 6 Fake Electors Over 2020 Certificate

Q: What secret evidence was allegedly hidden from the grand jury that led to the sudden collapse of this high-profile case?

It was not a “secret bombshell” in the dramatic sense, but rather exculpatory evidence the judge said prosecutors failed to show the grand jury: evidence indicating the electors acted openly and publicly, not covertly, and that officials did not treat their certificate as a genuine, legally valid electoral document. Judge Mary Kay Holthus said that omission mattered because the charges required proof of fraudulent intent. The hidden or withheld material, as described in the ruling and related reporting, included evidence that the defendants publicly announced what they were doing, broadcast the ceremony, and stated their purpose rather than trying to secretly pass the certificate off as authentic. She also pointed to testimony showing the document could not legally be processed as a valid electoral certificate under Nevada or federal law, and that no public official actually believed it was Nevada’s true electoral vote. Taken together, that evidence undercut the prosecution’s theory that the defendants intended to deceive government officials into accepting the document as real. Holthus said withholding that exculpatory context “undermine[d] the integrity of the indictment.” So the case did not collapse because of a newly uncovered hidden document; it collapsed because the judge found the state lacked proof of intent to defraud and had not fairly presented grand jurors with evidence cutting against its own case.

3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 14

Judge Mary Kay Holthus threw out the yearslong Nevada case against six Republicans accused of filing a bogus 2020 certificate declaring Donald Trump the state’s winner.
Holthus said prosecutors failed to show intent to deceive and also failed to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury, undercutting forgery and false-filing charges.
The six defendants, including Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald, had argued the document was political theater; prosecutors said it was meant to be mistaken for Nevada’s real electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021.
Attorney General Aaron Ford plans to appeal, but the ruling adds to setbacks in fake-elector prosecutions after dismissals in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia; Wisconsin’s case is still active.