A man accused of committing voter fraud in Bucks County in 2020 says a Trump pardon should wipe out his criminal case
Attorneys for Matthew Laiss say Trump’s pardon should “clearly extend” to Laiss, who is awaiting trial on charges that he voted twice in 2020, first in Bucks County, then in Florida.
President Donald Trump’s decision last month to pardon dozens of political allies who helped him try to overturn the 2020 election was quickly criticized by some opponents.
Now, a man accused of committing voter fraud in that contest by voting twice for Trump is seeking to wipe out a pending criminal case by saying the powers of that pardon action should extend to him.
Attorneys for Matthew Laiss wrote in court documents last month that the language in Trump’s pardon proclamation “clearly extend” to Laiss, who is awaiting trial on charges that he illegally voted twice in the 2020 election — first by submitting a mail-in ballot in Bucks County, then by voting in-person at his new home in Florida.
Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia charged Laiss in September with crimes including voter fraud and voting more than once in a federal election, and they said he faces potential prison time if convicted.
Last month, however, Laiss’ attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying that the pardon Trump issued Nov. 7 clearly applied to Laiss, and that Laiss had accepted it.
Although Laiss was not among the 77 people Trump listed when specifying who would receive relief, Laiss’ lawyers said the proclamation’s preamble included language making it applicable to “all United States citizens” for conduct, voting, or advocacy surrounding the contest.
In addition, his attorneys wrote, Trump allies including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Mark Meadows were all explicitly pardoned for “exponentially more egregious alleged conduct.” Extending relief to them while denying it to Laiss, his lawyers wrote, “would be outrageous.”
Federal prosecutors say Laiss is “entirely incorrect.”
In a reply brief filed last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Trump’s pardon was intended for people who were seeking to expose or rectify potential fraud in the 2020 election — not for people like Laiss, who are accused of actually committing it.
Beyond what they said was Laiss’ clear misinterpretation, prosecutors said that they checked with Trump’s Office of the Pardon Attorney and that it does not believe the president’s clemency —` which it helped effectuate — applies to Laiss.
“In other words, it is this office’s understanding that if Laiss were to appeal directly to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for a pardon based on [the] November 7 pardon proclamation, that petition would be denied,” prosecutors wrote.
It was not immediately clear how or when U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. might rule on the issue, although Laiss was scheduled to have a final pretrial hearing Tuesday morning.
If Leeson rules that the case can proceed, a trial is scheduled to begin next week.