Michigan elections chief: 'Direct line' between Trump’s Detroit call and January 6 riot

Michigan's top elections official is warning that former President Donald Trump's attempts to influence elections are ongoing and will need to be guarded against ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

In the wake of bombshell audio of former President Donald Trump and Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel pressuring local election officials in Michigan to not certify 2020 election results, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) wrote in the Daily Beast that there is a "direct line between these recordings and the tragedy that occurred at our U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021."

Benson wrote that the "most challenging time" of her tenure was the night of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers meeting on November 17, 2020 referenced in the Detroit News' initial report of the recording.

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"I distinctly remember coming home that evening feeling completely defeated. We knew about the pressure on the two members of the Board not to certify," Benson wrote. "But blocking certification in Wayne County and pushing this to the courts was part of a bigger plan to delay the process and foster doubt and uncertainty that would enable the Trump campaign to push Pennsylvania, which was certifying the next week, to delay as well. After that, we knew other dominos would fall—Georgia, Wisconsin, maybe even New Mexico."

"Yes, the law and the facts and the will of the voters were on our side," she continued. "But how could we, obscure state election officials, overcome the pressure and cajoling of the then-president of the United States?"

On Saturday, Benson told MSNBC that the recording appeared to violate Michigan's bribery statute and that there may in fact be additional investigations into both Trump and McDaniel as state and federal prosecutors continue digging.

"The reality is there are several criminal inquiries happening at the state and federal level into the post-election attempts to both pressure local elected officials, state lawmakers to interfere with the process, all the way up to the tragedy on our capitol, at the US Capitol on January 6th," Benson said. "Will the existing criminal investigation capture any additional illegality that are revealed through this reporting? That's possible."

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"We will continue cooperating with [investigators] as we work to tell our story and service witnesses to what we experienced in November 2020," Benson added.

Watch the video of Benson's remarks below or by clicking this link.