GOP attempt to award Michigan’s electoral college votes to Trump was criminal, Nessel says
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says she will consider state charges, but she thinks federal authorities should take the lead because there were similar plots in other swing states.
Republicans who tried to put forth their own electors in 2020 election should face charges, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says.
In December of 2020, 16 pro-Trump activists — including Michigan GOP chair Meshawn Maddock — tried to get into the state Capitol to put forth their own slate of electors, but were blocked. They also submitted documents making false claims. The group was not authorized to do anything election related because Trump had lost the statewide election by about 150,000 votes.
Because there were similar plots in other swing states, Nessel said on Tuesday federal prosecutors should take over.
“From a jurisdictional standpoint we think it’s important because it allows for the federal authorities to determine if there was a conspiracy that was a multi-state conspiracy,” Nessel said.
Nessel said she will consider state charges, but given the scope she thinks the feds should take the lead.
“Again I’m not going to rule anything out but I really think that whether or not this was part of a larger conspiracy is something that the federal authorities should absolutely investigate and make a determination about,” she said.
Among those peddling the phony documents at the state Capitol were Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock. She’s married to State Rep. Matt Maddock.
There were similar efforts in other states to use bogus documents to try to keep Trump as president. It’s unclear if federal prosecutors will pursue charges.
Nessel said she’s aware of the political nature of investigating Republicans but she maintains that any potential prosecutions are because crimes were committed.
“It’s not something that is appealing to me, which is to investigate and then charge 16 members of the Republican Party, especially given that some of them are state representatives and party co-chair and whatnot. I still have to do my job,” she said.
The Michigan Republican Party says Nessel is playing “political games.” It’s unclear if federal prosecutors are planning any prosecutions.
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