The wife of a Republican politician in Iowa has been convicted of dozens of criminal charges related to a 2020 voter fraud scheme aimed at getting her husband into office.
Department of Justice officials announced the verdict against Kim Phuong Taylor in a statement released on Tuesday, explaining that she had submitted absentee ballots on behalf of voters who had not given her permission to do so in their names.
She was convicted of 52 counts in total, including 26 counts of providing false information in registering and voting, 23 counts of voter fraud, and three counts of fraudulently registering to vote. She could face up to five years in prison for each charge.
According to the DoJ, Ms Taylor “perpetrated a scheme to fraudulently generate votes for her husband in the primary election for Iowa’s 4th US Congressional District in June 2020”. She’s then accused of doing the same thing after his defeat when he would go on to launch a campaign for Woodbury County supervisor. Mr Taylor won that second race.
Her husband Jeremy, an unindicted co-conspirator in the case whose campaigns were the intended beneficiary of her fraudulent actions, said in a statement to a local news affiliate, KCAU, that he and his wife had hoped for a verdict of not guilty but added that they respected the verdict.
“We are thankful many aspects of the background of this case were brought to light. While this was certainly not the outcome we were hoping for, we respect our court system that allowed the jury to hear my wife’s side of the story. We are thankful for our friends, family, and community who know us best and have stood by our side,” said Mr Taylor.
“While I plan to continue making decisions that are best for our county’s families, my first priority right now is to deal with today’s results as a private matter in order to be there for my own family, my wife and our children,” he continued.
US attorney Timothy Duax, one of the prosecutors, commented on the verdict to KCAU as well.
“The right to vote is one of our most important constitutional rights. Ms. Taylor deprived citizens of their right to vote in order to benefit her husband’s campaign,” Duax said. “The guilty verdict is an example of how the justice system works to protect the voting rights of citizens and ensure fair and honest elections.”
Republicans led by Donald Trump continue to falsely allege that voter fraud was widespread during the 2020 election and cost Mr Trump his victory in the race. Though his own administration’s experts denied this before the end of his presidency, Mr Trump has continued to insist that he should be reinstated as president — even as he and his campaign failed to provide any concrete evidence of fraud on a scale the likes of which they have alleged. In 2016, he made similar false accusations after losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, his supporters including those who have latched on to his voter fraud explanations have faced charges in multiple states related to their own efforts to defraud US election systems.
In Wisconsin, one of Mr Trump’s supporters was indicted in February of 2022 and demanded that authorities look into Mr Trump’s claims when she herself came under investigation, according to the Associated Press.
