Key swing state obliterates Trump's 'absurd' election interference demand

President Donald Trump's crusade to prove his false claims about election fraud and pave the way for future interference fell flat, according to a report from The New Republic, with leaders in Michigan rebuking his latest demand for Detroit-area ballots as "absurd."

Last week, the Department of Justice sent a letter, signed by Assistant Attorney General ⁠Harmeet Dhillon, demanding materials relating to the 2024 election from Wayne County, the home of Michigan's largest metropolitan area, Detroit. Among the letter's demands, it called for the county clerk to provide "election ballots, ballot receipts, and ballot envelopes from the last presidential election."

In a joint statement, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel refused, calling it an "absurd" demand driven by a "baseless" conspiracy theory, and accused Trump of "weaponizing" the DOJ in the process.

"Once again, President Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department in an attempt to sabotage our democratic process and turn it into his own personal agency to interfere in state elections. This request is as absurd as it is baseless,” Nessel said in the statement. “Successful convictions underline that Michigan’s safeguards work and that instances of voter fraud are rare and addressed. Using these prosecutions and recycling debunked 2020 election conspiracy theories as justification to demand copies of the ballots of Michigan residents is a clear attempt to bully clerks and spread fear, even after Donald Trump won Michigan in 2024. If this administration wants to bring this circus to our state, my office is prepared to protect the people’s right to vote."

Nessel responded to Dillon with a letter of her own, "urging her to uphold the rule of law and reject the Trump administration’s fishing expeditions into the debunked conspiracies."

In her own statement, Benson accused the Trump administration of attempting to create the basis for casting doubt on the legitimacy of future elections, as well as trying to relitigate past ones.

"This is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to interfere in our elections," Benson said. "Their goal is to sow seeds of doubt about the legitimacy of the results this November and in 2028. We won’t be intimidated by these tactics. We stand with Wayne County to ensure we protect the integrity of our elections and the privacy of Michigan voters. And we are ready to do the same with any other Michigan clerks DOJ threatens in this way. As always, we will follow the law and fight to protect our secure, accessible election system against this administration’s ongoing abuse of power."

As The New Republic detailed, Trump has demanded similar information from every state and Washington, D.C., and has faced legal setbacks in places like Rhode Island, California, Massachusetts, and Oregon. He has also begun claiming that arrests and criminal charges stemming from his false 2020 fraud allegations are coming soon, with his embattled FBI Director Kash Patel claiming that they could come as soon as this week.