LANSING, Mich. — Six of the 15 people facing forgery and other charges for allegedly serving as false electors were in court for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday morning.
Dan Schwager, the former general counsel for the U.S. Senate's secretary in 2020 and 2021 testified that a "fake Certificate of Votes" was submitted to the U.S. Senate.
"We could tell that it was not an actual or an authorized Certificate of Votes," Schwager told the courtroom. "It was not an authorized certificate, it was a fake."
The certificate, which declared former President Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election in Michigan, did not match the official document signed by Governor Whitmer and did not feature the state seal. Joe Biden won the state of Michigan by more than 150,000 votes.
The defendants insist their actions were not illegal.
One of the defendants, current Wyoming mayor Kent Vanderwood, was not a part of this preliminary hearing. He will be in court alongside seven others charged for their preliminary hearing in April.
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