'We did not violate any laws': Michigan GOP leaders charged in 2020 election scheme

01 August 2023

Two Michigan state Republican leaders have been charged for their participation in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, The Washington Post reports.

The new charges come after Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel announced days earlier that the "sixteen individuals involved in the so-called fake electors scheme to reverse the results of the 2020 election and keep former President Donald Trump in power" were "charged with eight federal felonies including forgery."

Per The Post, "Nessel launched a separate investigation into the improper acquisition of voting machines and last year turned it over to" Michigan prosecutor D.L. Hilson, "because among those being investigated was" former Michigan attorney general candidate Matthew DePerno, who was running against" Nessel, and lost.

According to The New York Times, DePerno "was arraigned on four felony charges Tuesday," including "undue possession of a voting machine and a conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to a computer or computer system," while State Rep. Daire Rendon (R) was charged with "two crimes, including a conspiracy to illegally obtain a voting machine and false pretenses."

The Postreports:

DePerno, with the help of others, began looking into the 2020 election after initial results showed Biden had won in northern Michigan’s Antrim County, which historically votes for Republican candidates for president. The county clerk detected the reporting error and quickly corrected the mistake to show Trump had 61 percent of the vote there, but the episode became a fixation of those who falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen. DePerno sued over how the election was conducted in Antrim County, but his case was dismissed soon afterward.

The Post also notes "When Nessel's office turned over the case to Hilson, it said those involved in the effort included Rendon; DePerno; attorney Stefanie Lambert; Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf (R); and Doug Logan, the former chief executive of Cyber Ninjas."

DePerno and Lambert have both denied wrongdoing.

The former AG candidate's lawyer Paul Stablein said, "He maintains his innocence and firmly believes that these charges are not based upon any actual truth and are motivated primarily by politics rather than evidence."

Lambert, according to The Post, mentioned "she had been informed she was facing charges" during a recent interview with the "Conservative Daily" podcast, claiming "we did not violate any laws," and that she "planned to sue Hilson for wrongful prosecution."

The Washington Post's full report is available at this link (subscription required). The New York Times' report is here.

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