By Joe Miller · December 7, 2022
This Week: Trump Faces Accountability As Threats to Democracy Continue
Election deniers are playing defense this week – with criminal investigations ramping up, the Georgia Senate runoff, and a dangerous Supreme Court case in the works, democracy is being tested at the ballot box and in the courtroom.
The Jan. 6 Committee’s announcement of criminal referrals marks a critical turning-point in accountability for those responsible in the deadly attack on our Capitol. The Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith announced subpoenas in three battleground states targeted by former President Donald Trump as part of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In Wisconsin, Dane and Milwaukee county clerks were subpoenaed as part of the Justice Department’s Trump probe. In Michigan, Wayne County officials were also subpoenaed alongside local Arizona officials in Maricopa County.
In Georgia, election denier Herschel Walker was defeated by Sen. Raphael Warnock in the Senate runoff election yesterday. Walker’s defeat is partially due to record-setting turnout, during both early voting and on Election Day, in which voters overcame hurdles imposed by Georgia Republicans after the 2020 election in an effort to hamper ballot access.
The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments today for North Carolina’s redistricting case, Moore v. Harper, headed by MAGA North Carolina officials pushing a dangerous, legally-dubious constitutional theory that could undermine federal elections across the country. In an op-ed to the New York Times, Democratic Governor Roy Cooper denounced the case as “not only a bad idea but also a blatant misreading of the Constitution.” Voting rights experts and democracy advocates have spent months railing against the case, working to inform the public about the potential fallout for our democracy if the 6-3 conservative supermajority affirms the theory.
In Arizona, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs certified the state’s midterm election results on Monday, marking a tenuous end to a state election cycle marked by some of the most dire threats to democracy in the country, from armed MAGA poll monitors to post-election certification challenges. Just last week, Cochise County finally certified its election results after receiving a court order to abide by state election law. County supervisors struggled to find an attorney to represent them, and they aren’t out of the woods yet – GOP lawyers were sanctioned after the ruling as Sec. Hobbs sent criminal referrals to the Department of Justice for two county supervisors. Meanwhile, GOP election lawsuits that have piled up since the election have largely been dismissed by state and local judges.
Elsewhere, election deniers are still working to subvert the will of voters:
In Pennsylvania, the state GOP’s lame-duck impeachment trial for democratically-elected Philadelphia District Attorney continues, costing taxpayers more than $372,000 so far. DA Larry Krasner is suing to stop the proceedings, and is calling the trial a blatant attempt to “undo elections” as part of an authoritarian attack on democracy by MAGA Republicans in the state.
In Michigan, election misinformation persists as Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson continues to face threats stemming from the 2020 election.
In Nevada, the outgoing head of elections in Las Vegas-based Clark County detailed the high turnover rates of Nevada election officials, the need for more elections training throughout the state, and continued threats and harassment that state election officials face in a new interview describing the aftermath of the midterm elections.
And finally, a federal appeals court ordered former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn to testify before the Fulton County grand jury in Georgia.
