In Pennsylvania, for instance, Trump’s campaign sued unsuccessfully in court to try to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory, and his allies organized a Trump slate of electors to send to Congress. Trump and his allies also repeatedly contacted top Republican lawmakers, at times asking about using the GOP-controlled legislature to give lawmakers the power to overturn the election. They refused.
The subpoenas, two of which were obtained by The Associated Press, request “any and all communications in any form” between June 1, 2020, and Jan. 20, 2021, “to, from, or involving” Trump, his campaign, lawyers and aides, including but not limited to former campaign officials like Bill Stepien and Justin Clark and lawyers John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Sidney Powell and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
McDonell said the only person on the list that his office had interaction with was Jim Troupis, Trump’s Wisconsin-based attorney. Trump ordered a recount of ballots cast in Milwaukee and Dane counties, the two largest Democratic counties in Wisconsin, following the 2020 election. Troupis spearheaded the legal effort not to count tens of thousands of ballots cast absentee in that election, including his own.
“We welcome and support the work of any law enforcement agency working to ensure full accountability for efforts to illegally overturn the fair and accurate results of Michigan’s 2020 election,” Benson said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Michigan centered on Detroit’s convention hall, which is located in Wayne County. Trump falsely claimed poll workers there “were duplicating ballots,” and an unsuccessful lawsuit by his campaign on Election Day forced election workers to temporarily halt the tallying of votes in the state’s largest city.
Another lawsuit was filed by several attorneys, including Trump allies Powell and L. Lin Wood, after the 2020 election on behalf of six Republican voters who wanted a federal judge to decertify Michigan’s results and impound voting machines. The judge declined, calling the request “stunning in its scope and breathtaking in its reach.”
Trump and his allies also focused on voting machines in Antrim County, which is located just north of Detroit. Republican attorney general candidate Matthew DePerno, who lost to Democratic incumbent Dana Nessel in the 2022 midterms, sued Antrim County, claiming voting machines there recorded votes for Trump as being for Biden. A Michigan special prosecutor is currently reviewing whether to criminally charge DePerno and others for attempting to gain access to voting machines after that election.
This content was originally published here.
