Forged documents declaringDonald TrumpandMike Pencethe real winners of the 2020 elections inArizonaandMichiganwere sent to the National Archives,Politicoreports.
During the aftermath of Election Day last year as Trump, his team and his supporters pushed afalse narrative of widespread voter fraud, the National Archives received fake certificates of ascertainment identifying those state’s appointed electors as designated votes for the former president and vice president, according to thePoliticoarticle published Monday.
The Arizona document, dated Dec. 7, 2020, lists the names of 11 electors voting for the Republican candidates while the state’s actual 11 electorscast their voteson Dec. 14 for now-PresidentJoe Bidenand Vice PresidentKamala Harris.
The National Archives sent the forgery to Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to alert her to the document and telling her it was being rejected, perPolitico.
A spokesperson with the archives replied to PEOPLE’s request for comment with a statement.
“The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) is a part of the National Archives and Records Administration and, on behalf of the Archivist of the United States, coordinates certain functions of the Electoral College between the States and Congress. Acting as an intermediary, we review the Certificates of Ascertainment and Vote as soon as we receive them from their respective States and the District of Columbia,” the spokesperson said in an email.
“OFR posts the Certificates onour websiteand makes the Certificates available for public inspection for one year following the election. After that year, the Certificates become part of the National Archives collection,” the statement continued. “Under the Privacy Act, OFR does not disclose information about communication with private individuals. As such, we cannot comment on what, if any, communication we’ve received except for the Certificates that are prepared and sent as part of an official State action.”
After learning of the fake papers, Hobbs reportedly sent a letter to a leader of the pro-Trump group Sovereign Citizens of the State of Arizona demanding the organization “immediately cease the unauthorized use of Arizona’s State Seal.”
Katie Hobbs.Shutterstock
“Given the gravity of this violation,” Hobbs continued, “I am referring this matter to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for further investigation and possible prosecution.”
Hobbs and her Michigan counterpart, Secretary Jocelyn Benson, have both sent the forged certificates to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the election that the Democrats won.
Officials in Hobbs' and Benson’s offices confirmed toPoliticothat they and members of their staffs met with the Jan. 6 panel in November.
“They mostly discussed election administration in Arizona, the 2020 elections, threats/harassment directed toward the office, and the Cyber Ninja’s partisan ballot review,” Hobbs' spokesperson C. Murphy Hebert told the outlet.
A spokesperson for Benson said she and others answered the committee’s questions about the election and events that preceded Jan. 6.
source: people.com
