This petition has been formally filed with the Michigan State Attorney Coordinating Council, a homeland agency. In it, Nessel's office revealed that DePerno, a key figure facilitating Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen, was present in an Oakland County hotel room at some point in early 2021. , stating that the aggregator was tampered with in the meantime. This is one of multiple pieces of evidence linking DePerno to multiple voting machine breaches, according to people involved in the investigation.
After it became clear that DePerno was under investigation, Nessel's office decided to request a special counsel to avoid the appearance of political motives, according to the request. did.
"When this investigation began, there was no conflict of interest. However, during the course of the investigation, the fact that Deperno was one of the main instigators of the conspiracy came to light. ',' said the petition. "Conflicts arise when 'the prosecution attorney has a personal interest (financial or emotional) in the case,'" the book states.
POLITICO has reached out to his DePerno for comment. Reuters outlined the charges against DePerno on Sunday night. The GOP is expected to formally receive the nomination {April 21}, according to the party leader's April 21 letter, Michigan law makes "wrongful possession of a voting machine used in an election" a five-year felony.
Nessel's request for a special counsel has spawned numerous conspiracy theories, raised doubts about the election, and created political and legal ramifications that could impact elections in key battleground states in 2024. It's the latest chapter in the classic story.
DePerno led a lawsuit against state Antrim County in November 2020, and although the error was quickly rectified, Trump and his allies have made it clear that the entire presidential election seized to claim fraud. Among the evidence Nessel's office said it found was a digital ID that matched the seized voting machine, which Deperno used as evidence in the ultimately losing lawsuit.
DePerno raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the course of his lawsuitand his false claims about Antrim were drafted by Trump's White House Executive Order to the military. seize voting machines nationwide. The order was never issued, but was revealed as part of the US House of Representatives investigation into the Capitol riots.
Antrim's allegations also led to reports allegingvoting machine fraud,which challenged elections in Michigan and other battleground states. Included as evidence in multiple lawsuits arguing. Hundreds of statewide county audits, as Deperno claimed, found no evidence of "technical manipulation" of voting machines.
DePerno was also involved in a so-called audit of his 2020 presidential election in Arizona, ultimately confirming the victory of President Joe Biden. During his Jan. 6 riots in the Capitol, he met with senior Trump officials from the State Department to discuss "how the election was stolen."
Instead, Trump showered support on Deperno. He almost a year ago supported his campaign for Attorney General. In March,held a fundraiser for Deperno at his Mar-a-Lago mansion,a month later in Michigan, stumped for him.
"We need him,"Trump said in March,"This is someone who can fix it. Not many," he said. "I convinced him to do so."
"Insider threats." Whether the individual may pose an "insider threat" or upcoming elections. In addition to Deperno, many other Trump-backed candidates who won Republican primaries in key battleground states such asArizona and Nevadawill oversee the election and related law enforcement efforts. has the potential to
According to a Reuters investigation, A Reuters investigation found at least eight known attempts to gain unauthorized access to voting systems in five states to date.Among them is Colorado's Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters , who has been charged with multiple felonies for her role in allegedly allowing unauthorized people to infiltrate the county's electoral system in search of evidence of conspiracy theories. Indicted
In addition to the Special Counsel's request, Nessel sent a summary of the initial findings to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
"We have requested the appointment of a Special Prosecutor ("SPA") to investigate this case for possible criminal charges against several of those involved. We consider the actions of these individuals to be very serious."Nessel wrote in a letter also obtained by POLITICO
74} As of last weekend, DePerno said that his law firm's website still had a link to an interview he gave to the conservative One America News Network in May 2021. but a “systems vulnerability expert” used a table covered in red duct tape to show how to flip the votes. It's not clear from the video if he was one of the compromised machines. The Attorney General's Office declined to comment.Chain of Events
Nessel's investigation leads Secretary of State to ask her office and Michigan State Police to investigate reports that tabulate machines and data After that began her February of this year. The hard drive had been illegally accessed by an unnamed third party in Roscommon County.
At the time, Trump supporters in the state said pending state-mandated voting system upgrades or voting machine maintenance would erase potential evidence of alleged fraud in the 2020 election. argued that it was possible. Access to those machines, they argued, may have helped them prove their claims.
Over time, the Attorney General's investigation expanded, and law enforcement eventually determined that a group of individuals had indeed gained unauthorized access to machines in multiple counties.
In a summary of the findings, the Attorney General reiterated the successful offer made by "Person 1" to the county clerk to obtain vote counting machines, software and USB drives. and claims that it is "necessary for the investigation of fraudulent elections." ” It is unclear from the abstract who Person 1 is.
"Once the spreadsheets were obtained, Officer 1 undertook the individual clerk to return the spreadsheets within a few days," the abstract reads. At least one of her clerks, Roscommon County Clerk Michelle Stevenson, began questioning the motives and authority of those who obtained the ballot tallies after weeks had passed and the equipment had not been returned. rice field.
Days after the tally was finally returned to the Roscommon clerk in early April 2021, DePerno issued a subpoena to his Verizon asking for more information on the tally. Did. The subpoena contained two tabulators in Richfield Township and his one modem ID number in Roscommon County.
A representative for Election Systems & Software, a company that manufactures the machines, told the Attorney General's Office that the only way to obtain these ID numbers was to "break the security seal and physically It is to be deleted." Outer panel," the letter reads.
ES&S also confirmed to the Attorney General that no evidence was found in the manipulation of the resulting software or firmware. All of the tabulators in question were revoked prior to the Aug. 2 primary election and are retained as special counsel evidence.
Suspected Co-Conspirators
Deperno wasn't the only individual named in Nessel's office's summary of findings. She also introduced her Stefanie Lambert, who was registered as DePerno'ssole legal partner, to the special counsel.
Others referred to the Special Counsel have been implicated in plotting to advance a false list of Republican electors who falsely claim that Trump won Michigan. Michigan State Rep. Der Endon, who was in the Nessel's office claims that DePerno, Lambert, and Rendon "organized" efforts to obtain and access the tabulator. Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, who is conducting his own "voter fraud investigation" after reviewing documents from his MyPillow CEO, Michael Lindell, who is allied with Trump, has also been named a special counsel. It's on the mandated list.
Leaf mobilized his fellow "constitutional sheriffs" to attempt to seize the Dominion voting machines. Lambert was part of the legal team that filed a lawsuit that was thrown out of court challenging the 2020 election. Lambert and her co-counsel, including attorney Sidney Powell, were also sanctioned by a federal judgefor a failed legal attempt to overturn the Michigan election results. Trump was about to appoint Powell as a special counsel to investigate voter fraud and seize voting machines.
Michigan is the epicenter of the hottest battles over election certification in 2020,Trump personally contacted members of the Detroit campaign committee, further summoned GOP Michigan legislatorsin the Oval Office.
In a letter to Benson, Nessel urged all state clerks to provide more education "outlining their legal obligations to protect election equipment." inspect or seize election materials;
