MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Wednesday that she expects criminal charges to result from ongoing investigations into the push by supporters of former President Donald Trump to reverse the outcome of the November 2020 election.
Nessel, a Democrat and the battleground state's top law enforcement official, made the comments during an interview at the Mackinac Policy Conference. She described the efforts that her office has been probing for months as "unprecedented" and "coordinated."
"I have talked to countless people at our department who have been there 30, 40 or even 50 years," Nessel told The Detroit News. "And they have never seen anything like this before.
"So this is really new territory. There's no way to say, 'Here's how we've always handled this.'"
Nessel didn't specify what the charges would be connected to, but her office has been involved, to some degree, in at least three high-profile investigations related to the November 2020 election.
As of Wednesday, 19 months after the last presidential vote, charges hadn't been filed in the three probes.
"I can't speak to the details of many of these investigations, except to say: The public should know we're aware of anything you have read in the news. ... We're aware of it. We are working on it. We're looking into it," Nessel said.
Nearly a year ago, the Republican-controlled state Senate Oversight Committee recommended that the Attorney General's office investigate individuals who pushed false claims about the November 2020 election to raise money or publicity for themselves. Nessel agreed to examine the matter in July 2021.
In January, her office referred to federal prosecutors a probe into a group of Michigan Republicans who signed and submitted a certificate falsely claiming Trump won the state's 16 electoral votes. The false slate of presidential electors included high-profile political figures, such as Michigan Republican Party Co-Chairwoman Meshawn Maddock and Republican National Committeewoman Kathy Berden.
The attorney general has previously suggested the so-called electors violated state laws against forgery.
On Wednesday, Nessel said she's read stories indicating federal authorities were investigating the electors in multiple states. They "are interviewing people in Michigan for that," the attorney general added.
"My hope, and honestly my expectation, is that these individuals who I believe violated the law will be held accountable ... in a manner that hopefully will deter similar conduct in future elections," Nessel said.
The Attorney General's office and the Michigan State Police have also been investigating incidents of unauthorized access to voting machines. But authorities have said little about whom they're looking into. That probe began after Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, requested in February an investigation into reports that an "unnamed third party" was granted access to voting technology in Roscommon County.
The Detroit News reported in May that Michigan state Rep. Daire Rendon, a Republican who has previously claimed to have evidence of election fraud from information technology "experts," had become entangled in the probe.
Carol Asher, the longtime clerk in Denton Township, told The News that Rendon of Lake City had contacted her in the weeks after the November 2020 election with a request to "get access to our tabulator."
The Attorney General's office had been in contact with Asher, the clerk said, and she provided a statement about Rendon's request on March 10, 2022, according to a document reviewed by The News.
Rendon, a third-term lawmaker, has declined to answer whether she had been interviewed by the Michigan State Police as part of the tabulator probe.
"I’m aware that something’s going on, but I don’t know what it is," said Rendon, referring to public reports on the Roscommon County incident.
Asked generally on Wednesday if it would be illegal for someone to examine a tabulator, Nessel said violations could be triggered if someone took possession of an election machine or otherwise tampered with it.
"That's supposed to remain within the possession of that election clerk," Nessel said. "I would also argue that if you were to break seals and whatnot and go inside a voting machine, I don't think that's appropriate either, without a court order."
Nessel said her office is "moving as quickly as possible" on the cases related to the November 2020 election. Her staff has to balance wanting to deter illegal activity in the upcoming November vote while ensuring they're bringing solid cases, she said.
For example, the attorney general said, it takes time to get bank records through search warrants.
Nessel herself will be on the ballot in November as she seeks a second term. Republicans are expected to nominate Kalamazoo lawyer Matt DePerno, who's been endorsed by Trump.
Trump lost Michigan's 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden by 154,000 votes or 3 percentage points. Some of Trump's supporters in the state have worked to overturn the result despite a series of court rulings and more than 200 audits that upheld it.
Nessel said her goal has been to ensure people "have faith and full confidence in our election system."
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