Donnini said if Roman hadn't block the conditional language from Michigan's certificate, there would have been no charges against the Republicans whose names appeared on the document.

Roman is facing criminal charges in Georgia as part of an investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the election in that state, including conspiracy to commit forgery.

Donnini noted that Chesebro had told Michigan investigators that he felt misled by the Trump campaign's handling of the false elector certificates.

"Ms. Berden feels the same way," Donnini said.

The back-and-forth on Tuesday in Ingham County District Court highlighted the fifth day of preliminary examinations for the six GOP electors. Lawyers for the electors spent much of the day questioning Shock and assailing the allegations brought against their clients by Nessel's office.

The attorneys cited lingering concerns in December 2020 about the election and other prosecutors' decisions to pass on the cases that Nessel's team pursued.

Defense lawyers argued on Tuesday that their clients had been advised to sign the certificate as a contingency by attorneys who were working with the Trump campaign in case there was some development that reversed Democrat Joe Biden's victory.

At one point, Donnini noted the federal indictment of Trump by special counsel Jack Smith said some false electors "were tricked into participating" in the plot based on the understanding that their votes would only be used if lawsuits overturned Biden's win.

"Do you think that Kathy Berden was tricked into participating on Dec. 14, 2020?” Donnini asked Shock.

"No," Shock replied.

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