Trump allies and supporters have been lying about voter fraud in a Michigan county.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Thursday announced she will launch an investigation into whether certain people are personally profiting from telling lies about voter fraud in Michigan, according to a report from the nonpartisan news outlet Bridge Michigan.
Nessel was asked to investigate after a report from the Michigan state Senate's Republican-led Oversight Committee found no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election, knocking down the lies Donald Trump and his supporters told in their effort to overturn the state's results.
President Joe Biden carried Michigan by roughly 3 points — far greater than Trump's surprise 0.2-point win in 2016.
In a 35-page report, the state Senate Oversight Committee recommended Nessel investigate, "those who have been utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends."
"The Committee finds those promoting Antrim County as the prime evidence of a nationwide conspiracy to steal the election place all other statements and actions they make in a position of zero credibility," the report added.
Some Trump supporters have been pushing a debunked conspiracy theory about Atrim County — a heavily Republican county that Trump carried by 24 points — in their effort to overturn the election, claiming that voting machines in the county were switching votes from Trump to Biden. The conspiracy arose after an initial count led to an error, which was later fixed.
"Multiple checks were easily able to rectify the situation and later, a complete hand recount validated the original, official results as accurate," the report from the Republican-led state Senate committee found.
But Republicans still used the lie in their failed effort to get judges to throw out Michigan's results as they sought to steal the election for Trump.
And despite the fact that the conspiracy has been debunked, Republicans — including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former state Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R) — have continued to push the lie, including at a fundraiser in the county in early June, where they pushed for an audit of the county's results similar to the scandal-plagued one being led by the GOP in Arizona. A judge in May, however, had already denied a request for an audit.
It's unclear whether those are the people Republicans want Nessel to investigate, as no names were given to Nessel.
As for Nessel's investigation, the Detroit Free Press reported that she will be aided by Michigan State Police in her probe.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
