Related Content
The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to Michael McDonald and James DeGraffenreid, two of the Nevadans who participated in submitting a false slate of Nevada electors to the National Archives in 2020 in support of then-President Donald Trump.
McDonald, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, and DeGraffenreid, a Republican national committeeman, were among 14 purported "alternate electors" nationwide subpoenaed by the committee, Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss. announced Friday. McDonald and DeGraffenreid were identified in the committee's news release as the chairman and secretary, respectively, of the faux Nevada slate of electors.
The committee is seeking information from individuals who met and submitted false Electoral College certificates in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and 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,” Thompson said in a statement Friday. “We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme. We encourage them to cooperate with the Select Committee’s investigation to get answers about January 6th for the American people and help ensure nothing like that day ever happens again.”
Republican leaders in seven states that President Joe Biden won met on Dec. 14, 2020, and submitted “bogus” Electoral College votes for Trump, the select committee’s statement says. The “electors” submitted those certificates to Congress, which multiple people advising Trump or his campaign used to justify delaying or blocking Congress' election certification process on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the statement.
In addition to McDonald and DeGraffenreid, the other faux Republican “electors” from Nevada are Durward James Hindle III, vice chair of the Nevada Republican Committee; Jesse Law, chairman of the Clark County Republican Party; Shawn Meehan, founder of Guard the Constitution Project; and Eileen Rice of the Douglas County Republicans. No subpoenas have been issued for them at this time.
The other individuals that the select committee subpoenaed are Nancy Cottle and Loraine B. Pellegrino from Arizona; David Shafer and Shawn Still from Georgia; Kathy Berden and Mayra Rodriguez from Michigan; Jewll Powdrell and Deborah Maestas from New Mexico; Bill Bachenberg and Lisa Patton from Pennsylvania; and Andrew Hitt and Kelly Ruh from Wisconsin.
Federal prosecutors have previously announced that they would be investigating those fake electors. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said this week that he welcomed the Justice Department's announcement and that his office was looking forward to "providing any support we can in that endeavor."
McDonald and DeGraffenreid did not return requests for comment. The Sun also reached out to each of the six electors, the Republican National Committee, and Nevada Secretary of State candidate James Marchant, who was one of the “alternate electors” at the event Dec. 14.
Nevada Republican Congressman Mark Amodei called the committee’s subpoenas nothing more than a “fishing trip.”
Amodei said the documents bore no resemblance to the certificates that had been signed by Gov. Steve Sisolak and Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske and did not have any forged signatures or special seals. The document “does not purport to fool anybody,” Amodei said.
The submission was simply a “symbol” that said ‘We’re from the red team and we vote for our guy,’” Amodei said.
“These people made a political statement,” Amodei said, “and they signed their names to it.”
Amodei said he is proud that he had voted against forming the committee considering this is the kind of work it is doing. The committee hopes one of the faux electors will say Trump told them to cast votes for him, Amodei said.
The subpoenas against those Republican leaders who submitted their Electoral College votes in favor of Trump is the latest chapter of bringing in anyone who said anything positive about Trump, Amodei said.
“Things are a mess and things are incredibly divisive,” Amodei said. “This is a sad day for both Democrats and Republicans.”
State Sen. Carrie Buck, R-Henderson, who leads one of the warring factions of the Clark County Republicans, said the subpoenas against McDonald and DeGraffenreid are “very troubling” because it could result in several felony charges.
The Nevada Republican Central Committee is holding its winter meeting Saturday and Buck hopes those who attend “really consider this massive revealment of a clear pattern of reckless behavior, which will make it harder for Republican candidates running in 2022.”