Former President Donald Trump has been pushing for a so-called election audit in Michigan to an extent greater than what was publicly known, according to a GOP leader in the state. President Joe Biden was victorious in Michigan, and previous examinations of the election results in Michigan and elsewhere have uncovered zero meaningful evidence of systematic election fraud, but these facts haven’t stopped Trump and certain allies of his on their quest to prove the existence of non-existent, election-swinging fraud. Now, according to Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, Trump has spoken directly with Michigan Republican Party Chair Ron Weiser about the potential for a so-called audit in the state.
A Trump-aligned audit that has been unfolding in Arizona recently (where results from the effort still aren’t available) has been a predictable disaster. Cyber Ninjas — the firm that was hired by Arizona Republicans from the state Senate to lead the so-called audit — didn’t even have any prior election auditing experience before taking on the Arizona job, and its CEO Doug Logan has been involved in the promotion of election conspiracy theories. There’s no particular indication that any so-called audit in Michigan would fare better.
According to Maddock, who made the revelation at a recent gathering of Michigan’s 14th Congressional District Republican Committee, Trump “called and spoke to Chairman Weiser, and they had a conversation.” Maddock also said that Weiser told the former president “that he’s going to pay close attention to what happens coming out of Arizona.” State legislators would no doubt have to be involved in the creation of any kind of new election audit process in Michigan — but notably, Maddock is married to a current state Representative in Michigan, Matt Maddock (R), placing the former president’s advocacy in close proximity to those who could make a change in Michigan. It’s unclear when Trump’s phone conversation with Weiser took place, but Trump used an August 12 statement to criticize certain Republicans for “standing in the way” of what he called a “forensic audit” of Michigan’s results. Read more at this link.
