Trump-supporting ex-IRS attorney jailed on two felony counts of voter fraud

Former President Donald Trump continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him via widespread voter fraud — a claim that has been repeatedly debunked. The widespread voter fraud that Trump, attorney John C. Eastman and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell allege has not been proven; nonetheless, voter fraud does occur on a small scale occasionally. And in the Cleveland area, a pro-Trump lawyer is now in jail for it.

On Tuesday, August 22, attorney James Saunders, a Trump supporter and donor, was found guilty of voting twice in two general elections. And Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Andrew Santoli ordered him to be taken to jail immediately.

Cleveland.com's Cory Shaffer, in an article published on August 22, reports, "Santoli held that Saunders cast ballots in both Ohio and Florida in the 2020 presidential election and the 2022 general election. The judge noted that voting records from both states show Saunders also illegally voted twice in the 2014 and 2016 general elections. Prosecutors could not charge him for those votes because the statute of limitations had passed."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

Although Saunders was taken to the Cuyahoga County Jail for two felony counts of voter fraud, it remains to be seen how much time, if any, the attorney will spend in prison. Santoli set Monday, August 28 as the sentencing date, and the judge has the option of sentencing Saunders to up to three years in prison or only giving him probation.

Saunders has been practicing law in Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb. In the past, he was an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to Shaffer, "The trial lasted a single day and featured testimony from three witnesses — elections officials from Cuyahoga County and Broward County, Florida, and an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations agent who examined the case. Saunders did not take the stand or present any witnesses. Santoli rejected Saunders' arguments at trial that he accidentally cast two ballots, did not mean to commit a crime, and that he shouldn't be prosecuted in Ohio for the vote he cast in Florida."

READ MORE:'Mistakes do happen': Trump supporting ex-IRS attorney voted in same election in 2 different states

Find Cleveland.com's full report at this link.