WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Capitol riot sent subpoenas to a group of people from seven states Joe Biden won in the 2020 presidential election who allegedly submitted fake slates of Electoral College votes for Donald Trump.
The 14 subpoenas were sent to those listed as chairperson and secretary for each group of purported alternate electors for Trump. The select committee says it has information that groups met on Dec. 14, 2020, in seven states Biden won — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and submitted bogus slates of Electoral College votes for Trump. They transmitted purported Electoral College certificates to Congress, which were used by those advising Trump or his campaign to justify delaying or blocking the certification of Biden’s victory, according to the committee.
The following individuals received subpoenas Friday demanding they produce documents and appear for a deposition in February.
—Nancy Cottle, chairperson, Arizona
—Loraine B. Pellegrino, secretary, Arizona
—David Shafer, chairperson, Georgia
—Shawn Still, secretary, Georgia
—Kathy Berden, chairperson, Michigan
—Mayra Rodriguez, secretary, Michigan
—Jewll Powdrell, chairperson, New Mexico
—Deborah W. Maestas, secretary, New Mexico
—Michael J. McDonald, chairperson, Nevada
—James DeGraffenreid, secretary, Nevada
—Bill Bachenberg, chairperson, Pennsylvania
—Lisa Patton, secretary, Pennsylvania
—Andrew Hitt, chairperson, Wisconsin
—Kelly Ruh, secretary, Wisconsin
“The Select Committee is seeking information about attempts in multiple states to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the planning and coordination of efforts to send false slates of electors to the National Archives,” Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a statement. “We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme.”
Thompson notes, according to documents sent to the National Archives, that the delegation of purported electors for Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence sent an alleged “Certificate of the Votes” of the purported electors to Congress to be considered by Pence — in his role as presiding over the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 to certify the election results.
“The existence of these purported alternate-elector votes was used as a justification to delay or block the certification of the election during the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021,” Thompson’s letter states.
