The sixteen defendants are accused of producing and attempting to use a false certificate of ascertainment containing electoral votes for Donald Trump, who had lost the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Michigan.

[2][3][4] Initially, Giuliani in a series of hearings in December 2020 publicly urged Michigan lawmakers to award the state's electoral votes to Trump, but was unsuccessful.

However, that case was thrown out on December 11, 2020, three days before the electoral vote was to occur, a fact that was withheld from most of the defendants by Giuliani and Kenneth Chesebro.

[7] Two members of the nominated Republican electoral slate — one of whom was former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land — did not attend, and were replaced.

[4][8] On the other hand, false elector Michele Lundgren told reporters that she had received a call to participate only the previous day and thought the document was a sign-in sheet.

[10] In March 2021, the watchdog group American Oversight posted copies of the false documents from several states, including Michigan, obtained from the National Archives via a freedom of information request.

[13] Two of the defendants, Kathy Berden and Mayra Rodriguez, along with a lawyer who tried to deliver the fraudulent certificates of ascertainment, were subpoenaed by the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in June 2022.

[21][22] Nessel's office disclosed during an April 2024 court hearing that Trump, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis were unindicted co-conspirators.

[25] On October 19, 2023, the Attorney General's office announced that it was dropping charges against James Renner in exchange for a cooperation agreement.