Federal judge rules Michigan false elector case should stay in state court

Lansing — A federal judge ruled Thursday the criminal case against one of the 16 Republicans who signed a certificate falsely claiming Donald Trump won Michigan's 2020 presidential election should proceed in the state court system.

Amy Facchinello of Grand Blanc had attempted to move the eight felony charges she's facing in Ingham County District Court to federal court, arguing that she, as a GOP elector in 2020, was a federal officer. Also, Facchinello and her lawyer, Paul Stablein, contend she acted at the direction of a federal officer, Trump, who was president, when she met with 15 other Republicans in the basement of party headquarters to sign the certificate on Dec. 14, 2020.

But U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker, an appointee of former President George W. Bush in the Western District of Michigan, rejected Facchinello's reasoning in a 15-page opinion. Presidential electors are not federal officers, Jonker said.

"Moreover, defendant Facchinello never became an actual presidential elector anyway," Jonker wrote.

In addition, Jonker said Facchinello's alleged actions didn't assist a federal officer but instead, related to a presidential campaign.

Stablein declined to comment on Jonker's ruling Friday.

Democrat Joe Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes, or 3 percentage points, in 2020, meaning, under state law, he got the state's 16 electoral votes from Democratic electors.

But Trump and his supporters maintained false and unproven claims that fraud swung the result. On Dec. 14, 2020, the 16 Republican-nominated electors gathered inside Michigan Republican Party headquarters and signed a document claiming that Trump had won the state's 16 electoral votes.

The Trump supporters then submitted the false certificate to Congress and the National Archives in an attempt to challenge the results of the election when federal lawmakers met on Jan. 6, 2021, to tally states' votes.

Attorney General Dana Nessel's office announced it was bringing eight felony charges, including forgery allegations, against each of the 16 Republican electors on July 18.

Cases against 15 of the Republicans are still pending in Ingham County District Court with preliminary examinations scheduled for December and January.

cmauger@detroitnews.com