New Mexico AG Working With Jack Smith To Investigate Alternate Trump Electors

Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to give remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The New Mexico Attorney General’s office is working with special counsel Jack Smith’s team on investigating alternate electors who cast provisional votes on behalf of President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, according to a spokesperson.

Two indictments against President Trump relating to the 2020 election—one filed in Washington (pdf) and the other in Fulton County, Georgia (pdf)—allege a conspiracy involving “fake” Electoral College electors who were marshalled to cast illegitimate electoral votes on behalf of the former president so he could win.

Both indictments mention New Mexico as part of their respective investigations.

Lauren Rodriguez, director of communications for New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the state’s former attorney general referred the matter of allegedly fraudulent electors who cast votes for President Trump in 2020 to the Department of Justice (DOJ) last year.

“We have been in regular contact with the Department about its progress,” Ms. Rodriguez said.

She added that the current New Mexico Attorney General, Mr. Torrez, ordered a separate investigation to determine whether state law was violated by actions taken by the individuals purporting to be electors. It’s related to that investigation that the attorney general’s office is coordinating with Mr. Smith.

“That inquiry is ongoing and now that special counsel Jack Smith has unsealed a federal indictment referencing specific conduct in New Mexico, we will work with his office to obtain any and all evidence relevant to the state’s inquiry,” Ms. Rodriguez said.

‘Fake’ Electors

Both indictments accusing President Trump of crimes related to alleged election interference mention New Mexico and “fake” electors.

In the indictment that Mr. Smith’s team filed in a Washington D.C. court on Aug. 1, the former president is accused of multiple felonies in connection with his challenges to the 2020 presidential election. The special counsel also identified a number of co-conspirators.

Mr. Smith accused President Trump of working with the co-conspirators to come up with a plan in which “fake” Electoral College electors in seven states—including New Mexico—would make and send to then Vice President Mike Pence false certifications that they were legitimate electors.

“Under the plan, the submission of these fraudulent slates would create a fake controversy at the certification proceeding and position the Vice President—presiding on January 6 as President of the Senate—to supplant legitimate electors with the Defendant’s fake electors and certify the Defendant as president,” the indictment reads.

In organizing the alternate electors, President Trump and his alleged co-conspirators targeted Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, according to the indictment.

“The Defendant and his co-conspirators executed a strategy to use knowing deceit in the targeted states to impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government function,” the indictment reads.

Mr. Smith charged the former president with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding—the certification of the electoral vote—and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

President Trump has pleaded not guilty and has called the investigation an act of election interference meant to hamstring his 2024 presidential campaign.

More Details

This week, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced charges against President Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators, accusing them of forming part of an organized criminal enterprise.

Ms. Willis’s indictment, which also mentions New Mexico, involves a total of 41 charges that include violation of the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiracy to commit filing of false documents.

President Trump has denied any wrongdoing in that case as well, while calling the indictment part of a politically motivated attack meant to hamstring his bid for the White House in 2024.

“This politically-inspired indictment, which could have been brought close to three years ago, was tailored for placement right smack in the middle of my political campaign, where I am leading all Republicans—by a lot—and beating Joe Biden soundly in almost all polls,” President Trump said.

According to documents (pdf) obtained by American Oversight, the following individuals cast invalid electoral votes for President Trump in New Mexico in 2020: Jewell Powdrell, a retired businessman from Rio Rancho and member of the United Black Conservatives of New Mexico; Deborah W. Maestas, the former Chairwoman of the Republican Party of New Mexico; Lupe Garcia, a New Mexico businessman; Rosie Tripp, former committee member of the Republican National Committee; and Anissa Ford-Tinnin, a campaign aide to former governor Susana Martinez.

None of the individuals identified in the document were immediately available for comment.

When speculation swirled around whether charges would be brought against the alternate electors in New Mexico, the state’s former Attorney General Hector Balderas told local news outlets in January 2022 that he had moved the matter up the chain for federal investigation.

“Election laws are the foundation of our democracy and must be respected. While review under state law is ongoing, we have referred this matter to the appropriate federal law enforcement authorities and will provide any assistance they deem necessary,” Mr. Balderas said at the time.

In her statement to The Epoch Times, Ms. Rodriguez didn’t mention when that investigation would be completed or when people in New Mexico could expect to hear about any potential charges being made.

“Our paramount concern is to gather a complete factual record before making any formal decision in this matter and to coordinate our efforts with our federal law enforcement partners in a manner that best secures the public’s faith in the integrity of the electoral process,” she said.