Alan Dershowitz is a lawyer, Harvard Law School Professor and author of ‘Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law’
(Daily Mail) Electoral challenges have long been part of American history.
Only now are they being criminalized.
I was one of the lawyers involved in objections to Florida‘s presidential vote in 2000.
A margin of less than 600 ballots determined that Governor George W. Bush rather than Vice President Al Gore won the state and, thus, the electoral college vote.
I was convinced then and I am convinced now that this result was wrong.
No one was indicted, disbarred, disciplined or even much criticized for those efforts, yet here we stand today.
President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants has been charged with election fraud, conspiracy, racketeering and more, under a law designed to take down criminal organizations, known as the RICO Act.
Should Al Gore have been charged in 2000?
What about me?
I represented the voters of Palm Beach County, many of whom voted by mistake for Pat Buchanan rather than Gore because of the infamous butterfly ballots and hanging chads that prevented their votes from being accurately counted.
During the course of our challenges, many tactics similar to those employed in 2020 were attempted.
Lawyers wrote legal memoranda outlining possible courses of conduct, including proposing a slate of alternate electors, who would deliver our preferred election results to Congress.
A margin of less than 600 ballots determined that Governor George W. Bush rather than Vice President Al Gore (above) won the state and, thus, the electoral college vote.
I represented the voters of Palm Beach County, many of whom voted by mistake for Pat Buchanan rather than Gore because of the infamous butterfly ballots (above) and hanging chads that prevented their votes from being accurately counted.
Electoral challenges have long been part of American history, only now are they being criminalized. I was one of the lawyers involved in objections to Florida’s presidential vote in 2000. (Above) Alan Dershowitz is a lawyer, Harvard Law School Professor and author of ‘Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law’
In 2000, Florida state officials were lobbied to secure recounts in selected counties in which we thought the tally would favor us. We were trying to find at least 600 votes that would change the result.
This new indictment features Trump’s phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, which was captured in an audio recording. In the conversation, Trump asks Raffensperger to ‘find’ 12,000 votes.
In my mind, this call is among the most exculpatory pieces of evidence. Trump was entitled as a candidate to ask a Georgia state official to locate votes that he believes were not counted.
In 2000, attempts were made to influence various Florida officials to recount the votes.
Now, the former president’s request that Georgia’s Republican Speaker of the House reconsider the count is being charged as soliciting a public official to violate his oath.
Florida state officials were lobbied to secure recounts in selected counties in which we thought the tally would favor us. We were trying to find at least 600 votes that would change the result. (Above) Paln Beach, Florida County elections officials conduct presidential vote recount on November 11, 2000
President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants has been charged with election fraud, conspiracy, racketeering and more, under a law designed to take down criminal organizations, known as the RICO Act.
But if similar behavior was legal in 2000, how could it be illegal in 2023?
In the end, all those efforts in Florida failed when the Supreme Court in a five-to-four vote ordered the recounts stopped thereby turning the election over to President George W. Bush.
I wrote a book entitled Supreme Injustice, condemning the Supreme Court’s decision and insisting that the election had been stolen from Gore and improperly handed to the candidate who received fewer votes.
The book was a bestseller, featured in front page reviews in the New York Times and other major publications. Most Americans thought that those challenging the Florida vote had acted in good faith, even though the courts ruled against them.
What’s different today is that many observers do not believe that Trump and his advisors were sincere when they declared that he had won the election. But that doesn’t make what they did a crime.
The Georgia indictment hinges on the allegation that Trump was lying in order to corruptly prevent the inauguration of the candidate who won the election fair and square.
Conspiracy and RICO violations are specific ‘intent’ crimes. In order to secure a conviction, prosecutors must prove a personalized agreement to join a criminal activity.
That will be an incredibly difficult case to make, especially regarding Trump himself who — to my knowledge – has never wavered from his belief that the election was stolen.
In the end, all those efforts in Florida failed when the Supreme Court in a five-to-four vote ordered the recounts stopped thereby turning the election over to President George W. Bush.
