Jan. 6 committee subpoenas 14 'alternate electors' who tried to delay certifying 2020 election results

Chelsey Cox, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol issued subpoenas for 14 "alternate electors," or individuals who met and allegedly submitted bogus Electoral-College certificates in seven states.

The subpoenas, announcedFriday, are part of the committee's investigation into a multi-state effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, "including the planning and coordination of efforts to send false slates of electors to the National Archives," Committee Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a press release.

Thompson said the committee obtained information suggesting groups of individuals met on Dec. 14, 2020 in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — states won by then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in 2020 — to submit fake slates of Electoral-College votes for former President Donald Trump.

The House select committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol meets to hold Steve Bannon, one of former President Donald Trump's allies in contempt, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday evening, Oct. 19, 2021. From left to right are Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ORG XMIT: DCSA125

The electors allegedly transmitted the Electoral-College certificates to Congress which individuals advising Trump or the Trump campaign used to justify delaying or blocking the certification of election results on Jan. 6, according to the committee.

"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 said in the press release. "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.”

The Justice Department announced Tuesday it is considering pressing criminal charges over Electoral College certifications in the 2020 election.

More: Who has been subpoenaed so far by the Jan. 6 committee?

“Our prosecutors are looking at those and I can’t say anything more about ongoing investigations," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told CNN.

The Jan. 6 committee so far has issued 79 subpoenas related to the investigation into the insurrection.

Reach out to Chelsey Cox on Twitter at @therealco.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 14 individuals subpoenaed by Jan. 6 committee