The Republican officials who submitted forged state documents to the National Archives to make it appear as if Donald Trump won states he lost in 2020 may soon have to explain their actions to federal prosecutors. Over the past week, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow has unearthed five fake certificates of ascertainment that were submitted to the National Archives from different swing states in a badly thought-out plan to secure victory for Trump. One of those states was Michigan, and its attorney general, Dana Nessel, appeared on Maddow’s show Thursday evening to set out her next steps. “We think this is a matter that is best investigated and potentially prosecuted by the feds,” she said. “As such, just today, we referred this matter to the Western District [of Michigan] U.S. Attorney’s Office.” Nessel explained that she made her decision after realizing that the plot was carried out over multiple states, not just her own. “I think that you’re talking about a conspiracy, really, to overthrow the United States government,” she said.