FBI Seizes Nevada GOP Chairman’s Phone as Part of Fake Election Investigation

Michael McDonald, second man cited in January

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — FBI agents issued a search warrant Wednesday against Nevada’s top Republican official, sources told 8 News Now I-Team’s George Knapp.

Agents seized the cell phone of the state’s Republican President, Michael McDonald, allegedly as part of an investigation into the fake election scheme started at the end of the 2020 presidential election.

A second search warrant was issued for the party’s state secretary, James DeGraffenreid, who also signed the document, but FBI agents were unable to locate him Wednesday, the sources told Knapp.

In December 2020, 8 News Now I-Team reported that all six Nevada Republican Party voters signed documents signaling their support for former President Donald Trump in a symbolic ceremony without any legal merit, held in Carson City and coinciding with with the official status. -count sanctioned on December 14, 2020.

President Joe Biden won the presidential race in Nevada by more than 2%. He received the state’s six electoral votes at the official statewide ceremony, overseen by Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske.

A video of the Republican event has since been removed. In January, the I-Team received a copy of the fake certificates, which were intended to certify the state’s electoral votes for Trump.

The certificate received by the National Archives looks very different from the official state-stamped one and reads: “We, the undersigned, being the duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America of the State of Nevada, for I hereby certify six electoral votes for Trump.”

In a statement after the event, Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald said the party’s constituents were gathered in Carson City due to ongoing legal battles seeking to overturn election results. Nevada Republicans lost all court cases involving voter fraud allegations.

McDonald’s attorney Richard Wright was unavailable Wednesday. Defense attorney George Kelesis told the I-Team that he had “no comment on the FBI.”

The subpoenas, issued in late January, read in part: “…We are seeking information about your role and participation in the purported list of electors voting for Donald Trump and, to the extent relevant, your role in the events of January 6 of 2021.”

The Jan. 6 committee said at its Tuesday hearing that part of its focus was on the bogus electoral scheme.

The Nevada Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The party has not responded to any requests for comment from voters.