I have been struggling to make sense out of what the ‘get Trump’ crowd is trying to do. Then it occurred to me. They are not interested in following the rule of law. They want to use the law to obtain their desired end. In this case, it means getting a conviction on Trump before the election, even if it means abusing the rule of law.
I believe that the underlying crime will not be identified. Rather, the prosecutors are repeatedly stating that there was a conspiracy to commit election fraud. This is being done to convince the prosecution-friendly jury that there is no doubt that Trump et al conspired to commit election fraud.
When it goes to jury, Merchan will instruct the jurors to determine whether they believe that the evidence presented by the prosecutors demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump committed election fraud. It doesn’t matter that no specific charge was presented. It doesn’t matter that Trump was never indicted, brought to trial, or convicted for election fraud. If the jury believes that Trump committed election fraud, they can use it as the underlying crime to bring about a felony charge.
You’ve outline their strategy well. In fact, they’re rubbing our collective nose in it (Az, Mi, etc). The problem with putting all their eggs in this one basket boils down to the fact that elections are decided based on fundamentals. Rigged juries and political trials aren’t going to bail them out. Re-electing an incumbent sitting at 35% isn’t just a heavy lift. It’s never happened before.