LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Friday her office is reopening its investigation into the 16 Republican electors who signed a certificate falsely claiming that former President Donald Trump had won the state's 2020 election.
Nessel, a Democrat, previously referred the matter to federal prosecutors. But she cited new documents released by a U.S. House committee and said there was "clear evidence to support charges" against the group of 16 Michigan Republicans who signed a document that was submitted to the National Archives and was intended to help Trump supporters challenge his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
"I think that type of activity can't go without any consequences," Nessel said.
The attorney general revealed the development during a press call with the Democratic Attorneys General Association on the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. She said her probe would occur alongside an ongoing federal investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The false Trump electors met inside Michigan Republican Party headquarters on Dec. 14, 2020 as Biden's electors participated in an official ceremony in the state Capitol. Biden won Michigan by 3 percentage points or 154,000 votes.
In January 2022, Nessel referred the matter to the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Michigan, saying federal prosecutors were better positioned to investigate what appeared to be a coordinated effort across multiple states.
But on Friday, Nessel said she was "a little worried that over a year has passed" since her referral and she wasn't sure what the federal government was going to do.
"What we've seen from the Jan. 6 committee is an overwhelming amount of evidence," Nessel said. "I thought there was already a substantial amount of evidence in that case. But now, there is just clear evidence to support charges against those ... 16 false electors, at least in our state."
Asked what triggered her decision to reopen her investigation, Nessel said it was the recent release of witness testimony and a report by the U.S. House's Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Detroit News reported Friday that a previously unpublished document developed by Michigan GOP officials in December 2020 conflicted with the statements in the certificate the false electors signed.
Laura Cox, who was chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party in 2020, prepared a document for the Trump electors that appeared to acknowledge Trump hadn't been declared the winner of Michigan's election. However, the electors participated in an event that produced a certificate that claimed he had won the state's 16 electoral votes.
Cox discussed the document she advanced in her testimony before the U.S. House committee. A transcript of the interview was released this week.
Nessel has previously said the electors possibly violated state laws against forgery of a public record and election-related forgery. Michigan election law bans someone from knowingly making or publishing a false document "with the intent to defraud."
The certificate the GOP electors signed claimed they "convened and organized" in the state Capitol, which they didn't. Some of the electors walked three blocks to the Capitol after meeting in state GOP headquarters, but they were denied access to the building.
Three of the 16 Trump electors told The Detroit News on Thursday they were not certain what they were signing when they convened on Dec. 14, 2020.
Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot, one of the electors, said he didn't recall how many documents he signed and claimed he thought "it was a ceremonial thing."
Similarly, John Haggard of Charlevoix said it was not really explained well what the GOP electors were signing. Another elector, Michele Lundgren of Detroit, has said she thought she was putting her name on a sign-in sheet.
Republicans have previously accused Nessel of playing politics with the electors investigation. She was reelected to a second four-year term as attorney general in November.
Among the high-profile Michigan Republicans who signed the false electors certificate were Michigan GOP Co-Chairwoman Meshawn Maddock and Republican National Committeewoman Kathy Berden.
