Talk about beating a dead horse. As incredible as it sounds, some of Trump’s allies and associates who spent months trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election are still at it. Sure, they trotted out bogus theories based on spurious legal claims in failed attempts to invalidate the election but now they’re resorting to even crazier tactics, The New York Times reports.

Some apparently think that if they can somehow “decertify” the 2020 vote in key states, the outcome can still be reversed.

“In statehouses and courtrooms across the country, as well as on right-wing news outlets, allies of Mr. Trump — including the lawyer John Eastman — are pressing for states to pass resolutions rescinding Electoral College votes for President Biden and to bring lawsuits that seek to prove baseless claims of large-scale voter fraud,” the Times reports. “Some of these allies are casting their work as a precursor to reinstating the former president.”

Dang. Talk about a dog with a bone.

None of these efforts have been anything other than futile. They have failed to change statewide outcomes or unearth any evidence of mass voter fraud. And legal experts dismiss these claims as completely preposterous, adding that there is no plausible scenario under the Constitution for reinstating Trump as president.

Eastman originally hoped to use Congress’s final count of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the election, and while it was considered far-fetched while leading up to the deadly Capitol riot, these efforts continue to fuel a false narrative that reverberates with Trump’s supporters and provides balm for their grievances. These people are unfortunately continuing to marinate in conspiracy theories and misinformation that destabilize democracy and add new life to the lie that the election was corrupt.

As a result, false claims are spreading like bacteria, in the form of podcasts and television appearances that perpetuate lies about widespread election fraud in the 2020 election and continue to purport that Trump can somehow be returned to power — something that Trump (of course) has privately pushed as well, even as he looks to run in 2024.

Democrats and more than a few Republicans are worried about the possible impacts of the decertification efforts. Some are deeply concerned about the consequences, especially the increased potential for violence on a par with January 6’s unrest when Trump supporters attacked the Capitol, certain their messiah could still win.

“Legal experts worry that the focus on decertifying the last election could pave the way for more aggressive — and earlier — legislative intervention the next time around,” the Times reports.

“At the moment, there is no other way to say it: This is the clearest and most present danger to our democracy,” said J. Michael Luttig, a leading conservative lawyer and former appeals court judge, for whom Mr. Eastman clerked and whom President George W. Bush considered as a nominee to be the chief justice of the United States. “Trump and his supporters in Congress and the states are preparing now to lay the groundwork to overturn the election in 2024 were Trump, or his designee, to lose the vote for the presidency.”

The New York Times report provides more insight than I can provide in a small space. If you’re interested in finding out more, give it a read. It makes me glad I live in a foreign country.