'Betrayed is an understatement': Michigan fake elector says he was duped by GOP officials

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A Republican fake elector in Michigan told investigators of his regret for trying to swing the 2020 vote for Donald Trump — and said officials “betrayed” him by exploiting his ignorance.

In a recording of an interview obtained by the New York Times, James Renner said it was only after he heard testimony from the House’s Janunary 6 investigation that he realized he’d acted illegally.

“I was accepting the individuals that were in authority” knew “what they were talking about,” Renner said in the interview.

But, after he and another 15 fake electors were sued in civil court in January this year, he started reading House transcripts involving the scheme he was accused of being a part of.

“It was only then that I realized that, hold it, there is an official state-authorized process for this,” he said. “I had never been an elector, I had never discussed it with anybody. I was used to a much more informal process at the county level. And so that’s when I became suspicious of what had gone on... what happened was not legitimate.”

“I am very upset,” he went on. “I don’t show it, but I am. … Betrayed is an understatement. That’s all I can say.”

Criminal charges against Renner, including forgery and conspiracy, were dropped after he agreed to cooperate with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. He is the only one of 16 people hit with the charges in July to have them dropped.