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Prosecutors have dropped the last remaining charge against a northern Virginia elections official who had been accused of misconduct associated to the 2020 elections.
A decide on Monday formally dismissed a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect of obligation against Michele White, the previous registrar in Prince William County, a suburb outdoors the nation’s capital, after prosecutors requested the dismissal.
The most critical costs against White had already been dismissed. The Virginia Attorney General’s Office mentioned it was compelled to drop felony costs of corrupt conduct and making a false assertion as a result of a key witness had revised their testimony.
JUDGE DROPS FELONY CHARGES AGAINST VIRGINIA ELECTIONS OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF 2020 MISCONDUCT
White was indicted again in 2022, and the workplace of Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares by no means spelled out publicly or in courtroom papers precisely what it alleged White did fallacious. Court information indicated solely usually that the allegations needed to do with 2020 election outcomes, and county officers mentioned again when White was indicted solely that the alleged discrepancies in vote totals wouldn’t have affected the end result of any race.
Assistant Attorney General James Herring declined touch upon the case after Monday’s listening to.
White’s lawyer, Zachary Stafford, mentioned after the dismissal that the federal government’s case amounted to a hodgepodge of complaints “and the underlying theme was that Ms. White was bad at her job.”
He mentioned the allegations ranged from trivial — that she moved her workplace to a distinct constructing — to a critical allegation that she reported incorrect ends in the presidential race from the county’s central absentee precinct. Stafford mentioned that allegation “was subsequently disproven by a Commonwealth witness.”
Prosecutors have dropped their last remaining charge against former Prince William County, Virginia, elections official Michele White.
“(T)he evidence is clear that Ms. White did not commit any crimes during her tenure as Registrar in Prince William County, and the Attorney General’s office wisely dropped the charges,” Stafford mentioned in a written assertion. “This process has been traumatic for Ms. White, and today’s dismissal is just the first step towards recovering from that trauma. Ms. White was a dedicated public servant, and the evidence shows that she conducted an accurate election in 2020.”
The case against White is the one felony prosecution introduced to this point by a particular Election Integrity Unit Miyares shaped in 2022, with as many as 20 legal professionals assigned to the unit.
DEMOCRAT CHARGED IN VOTER FRAUD SCHEME OVER DOZENS OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS
“I pledged during the 2021 campaign to work to increase transparency and strengthen confidence in our state elections. It should be easy to vote, and hard to cheat. The Election Integrity Unit will work to help to restore confidence in our democratic process in the Commonwealth,” Miyares mentioned when the unit was shaped.
In White’s case, prosecutors insinuated that the case fell aside as a result of a witness within the county’s elections workplace “conveniently” modified their testimony to the detriment of the federal government’s case.
At Monday’s listening to, Judge Carroll Weimer requested if the federal government was implying that there have been “shenanigans” that brought about the federal government’s case to break down.
Herring maintained that he thought of a few of the witnesses’ revisions to their testimony “convenient” however mentioned that he had no cause to imagine that White was liable for these revisions.
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White’s lawyer disputes that the witness’ testimony was inconsistent.
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