Reference no: EM133627719
Discussion Post
Background: According to numerous public reports, ten Wisconsin Republicans assembled on Dec. 14, 2020, at noon in the state Capitol and falsely certified that Donald Trump had won the state's electoral votes. These ten people were not the nation's only bogus electors. They made up just one of seven groups falsely claiming Trump was the victor in states where the majority of voters chose Joe Biden for president and Kamala Harris for vice president. The six other states - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania - joined Wisconsin in submitting documents to Congress certifying falsely that the majority of votes - and therefore the Electoral College votes - went to Trump. The documents, all filed by Republicans for Trump, were brought to light through a Freedom of Information Act request by the D.C.-based watchdog group American Oversight, which requested all 2020 certificates of electoral votes that were not already published as the 2020 Electoral College Results.
Using the information from the Read and Attend resources for this unit, and additional resources available from the Bethel University library, analyze whether this conduct could be considered a crime against the administration of government, a crime against the administration of justice, an offense against public order, treason, perjury, obstruction of justice, misconduct in office, or any other federal or state crime. Support your analysis with citations in correct APA 7th edition format to relevant statutes and case law and scholarly journals.
Librarian's Research Notes:
In analyzing the false certification of electoral votes, a variety of scholarly resources may be helpful. Here are a few strategies:
A. Search the possibly related crimes, such as obstruction of justice.
B. Search for articles describing the events - which are cataloged as "United States Capitol Insurrection, 2021."
C. Search more broadly for the electoral college statutes.