Michael J. McDonald

On November 9, 2025, President Trump issued Michael J. McDonald a federal pardon covering offenses related to the 2020 election. Nevada officials have stated this pardon has no legal effect on the pending Nevada state charges, which are a matter of state, not federal, law.

• Trump pardons Nevada fake electors; state charges stand — Las Vegas Sun (11/10/2025) [Primary]

A Clark County grand jury indicted Michael J. McDonald in December 2023 on one count of offering a false instrument for filing (a category C felony) and one count of uttering a forged instrument (a category D felony). The case was dismissed on venue grounds in June 2024; the Nevada Supreme Court reversed and reinstated it on November 13, 2025; on August 13, 2026, Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus dismissed the case a second time, ruling that prosecutors had not shown sufficient evidence the electors intended to defraud state officials, that Nevada's false-instrument and forgery statutes did not clearly cover the charged conduct, and that prosecutors had withheld certain evidence from the grand jury. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford's office has stated it will appeal that second dismissal to the Nevada Supreme Court; as of September 2026 the case remains on appeal with no trial date, and Michael J. McDonald has not been convicted of any charge.

• Nevada Attorney General indicts six 2020 fake electors — Nevada Attorney General's Office (12/06/2023) [Primary]
• Nevada Supreme Court reinstates fake electors case — CNN (11/13/2025) [Corroborating]
• Nevada fake elector case dismissed a second time — The Nevada Independent (06/01/2026) [Corroborating]

Michael J. McDonald was one of six Nevada Republicans who met in Carson City on December 14, 2020 and signed a certificate declaring themselves "the duly elected and qualified electors" for President and Vice President from Nevada for Donald Trump and Mike Pence. The claim was false: Nevada's certified electoral votes, reflecting Joe Biden's certified win in the state, were cast by Nevada's Biden-Harris electors the same day. Nevada's certificate, unlike Pennsylvania's and New Mexico's, contained no conditional language.

• 2020 Electoral College Results (National Archives) — National Archives and Records Administration (01/06/2021) [Primary]
• Final Report, Chapter 3 (fraudulent elector scheme) — January 6th Select Committee / GPO (12/22/2022) [Corroborating]

12/14/2020

• 2020 Electoral College Results (National Archives) — National Archives and Records Administration (01/06/2021) [Primary]