DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Michigan prosecutors charge Trump allies in felonies involving voting machines and illegal 'testing'

Matthew DePerno, who unsuccessfully ran for Michigan attorney general last year, was charged with undue possession of a voting machine and conspiracy.

LANSING, Mich. — A former Republican attorney general candidate and another supporter of former President Donald Trump have been criminally charged in Michigan in connection with accessing and tampering with voting machines after the 2020 election, according to court records.

Matthew DePerno, a Republican lawyer who was endorsed by Trump in an unsuccessful run for Michigan attorney general last year, was charged with undue possession of a voting machine and conspiracy, according to Oakland County court records.

Daire Rendon, a former Republican state representative, was charged with conspiracy to commit undue possession of a voting machine and false pretenses.

Both were arraigned remotely Tuesday afternoon, according to Richard Lynch, the court administrator for Oakland County’s 6th Circuit.

Those charged in Michigan are the latest facing legal consequences for alleged crimes committed after embracing Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

The charges come as the former president is investigated for election interference in Georgia. Separately, Trump said in mid-July that he is a target of a federal investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

DePerno, whose name was incorrectly listed as “DeParno,” in court records, was named as a “prime instigator” in the case. He could not be reached by phone immediately for comment but has previously denied wrongdoing and has accused the state attorney general of “weaponizing her office.”

Five vote tabulators were taken from three counties in Michigan to a hotel room, according to documents released last year by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office. Investigators found that the tabulators were broken into and “tests” were performed on the equipment. They said that DePerno was there.

Because Nessel ran against DePerno in 2022, she secured a special prosecutor who wouldn’t have a conflict of interest in the case and could operate independently.

That special prosecutor, D.J. Hilson, has been reviewing the investigation and considering charges since September. He convened a grand jury in March to determine whether criminal indictments should be issued, according to court documents.

Charges were slow to come in the case, in part because prosecutors wanted clarification from a judge about what constitutes illegal possession of a voting machine. Some of the defendants argued that local clerks gave them permission to take the machines.

In July, a state judge ruled that it’s a felony to take a machine without a court order or permission directly from the Secretary of State’s office.

That felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/el...nVpoEvCLPdBy1B18h6HGijpgySBzHpeSCj855eGE

Who could have imagined it is illegal for vote tabulators to be taken from three counties in Michigan to a hotel room?

Lol .. judging by the measly sentences handed down to the Jan 6th insurrectionists. This felony will most likely get 2 hrs in detention.

GOPers are getting a reminder about responsibility. I’m loving it.

Since this is about yet another set of indictments doled out to members of the trump syndicate, I mean let's face it, there's far too many people involved to try and call it a crime family, I thought I would add in another 16 members of the syndicate located in Michigan who were indicted in mid July........

What we know about the 16 fake electors charged in Michigan

State prosecutors in Michigan announced criminal charges Tuesday against the 16 Republicans who served as fake electors in 2020, a watershed moment in the still-ongoing federal and state investigations into the 2020 election aftermath.

Some of the GOP electors in Michigan were local activists who were recruited to serve as “fake electors,” all while inaccurately believing there was still a chance that then-President Donald Trump might secure a second consecutive term. Others were well-connected GOP operatives. The group of 16 fake electors includes current and former state GOP officials, a Republican National Committee member, a sitting mayor, a school board member and Trump supporters who were the plaintiffs in a frivolous lawsuit that tried to overturn the 2020 results.

After the 2020 election wrapped up, some of these individuals publicly said they didn’t realize they were potentially breaking the law by signing the fake certificates. Others are still peddling the lie that the election was stolen. CNN has reached out to the 16 fake electors for comment about the criminal charges.

Here’s what we know about the 16 fake electors facing state charges.

Meshawn Maddock, 55, was previously co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party and is married to a GOP member of the Michigan House of Representatives. CNN previously reported that she publicly bragged about the Trump campaign’s involvement in the fake elector scheme. The Maddocks spoke at a pro-Trump event in Washington, DC, one day before the insurrection on January 6, 2021, and Meshawn Maddock was in DC on the day of the attack, though she wasn’t at the US Capitol. Regarding the charges, she told CNN, “This is part of a national coordinated lawfare to stop Trump. (Michigan Attorney General) Dana Nessel and (Justice Department special counsel) Jack Smith are constructing a banana republic where political opponents are harassed, bankrupted and jailed and voter fraud has now morphed into their prosecutorial fraud.”

Kathy Berden, 70, is one of the Republican National Committee members representing Michigan. She was previously one of the pro-Trump delegates at the Republican National Convention in summer 2016.

Marian Sheridan, 69, is the grassroots vice chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party. She was also one of the plaintiffs in a frivolous lawsuit that tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Michigan.

Kent Vanderwood, 69, is the current mayor of Wyoming, Michigan, a small city near Grand Rapids. He was previously a longtime member of the Wyoming City Council and won the mayor’s race last year. During the 2020 campaign, he was chair of the 2nd District Republican Party, according to local press reports.

Stanley Grot, 71, is the Shelby Township clerk, in a suburb of Detroit. He was appointed in 2012.

Amy Facchinello, 55, was elected in 2020 as a member of the school board in Grand Blanc, which is a suburb of Flint, Michigan. She was previously vice chairwoman of the Genesee County Republican Party. CNN previously reported that she has repeatedly promoted QAnon-related material on her social media accounts.

Mari-Ann Henry, 65, is the treasurer of the 7th Congressional District Republican Committee, according to its website. The district includes Michigan’s capital city of Lansing and several surrounding counties.

Michele Lundgren, 73, was the Republican nominee in 2022 for a Detroit-based seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, but lost the heavily Democratic district in a landslide. Regarding the fake electors plot, she told CNN last year, “We were called on the phone, asked if we’d come and support President Trump and sign something, and we all went to Lansing. … We were just told to show up and sign this paper. If we had any information about it being untoward or illegal, we would not have done it.”

Clifford Frost, 75, is a realtor who unsuccessfully ran for the Macomb County Board of Commissioners last year. He was a GOP poll-watcher in Detroit during the 2020 primary, according to the Detroit Free Press. In recent days, he has shared pro-Trump conspiracy theories about alleged voter fraud on social media.

John Haggard, 82, was one of the plaintiffs in a frivolous lawsuit that tried to overturn the 2020 results in Michigan. The lawsuit was dismissed and the lawyers who brought it were sanctioned by a judge. He served as a legitimate Trump elector from Michigan in 2016, when Trump narrowly won the state. Regarding the fake electors plot, he told CNN last year, “We signed papers that said we won the election. And the numbers said we didn’t. I guess we don’t have the right to say we won. Apparently our attorney general doesn’t believe in freedom of speech.”

Timothy King, 56, was also one of the plaintiffs in a frivolous lawsuit that tried to overturn the 2020 results in Michigan. The lawsuit was dismissed and the lawyers who brought it were sanctioned by a judge.

Rose Rook, 81, is a member of the executive committee of the Van Buren County Republicans, according to its website.

Mayra Rodriguez, 64, is a lawyer who is facing potential disciplinary proceedings with the Attorney Discipline Board, stemming from her participation in the fake electors plot, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Hank Choate, 72, is a dairy farmer who met with Trump during a White House event about agriculture in April 2017. The event was also attended by then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

Ken Thompson, 68 was brought in to replace one of the original GOP electors that was recruited to serve before the 2020 election. A Michigan GOP official testified to the House select committee that investigated January 6, 2021, that Thompson replaced an original elector who was “uncomfortable with the whole thing” and refused to participate.

James Renner, 76, was also brought in later in the process to replace one of the original GOP electors. He is from Lansing.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/politics/michigan-fake-electors-bios/index.html

More.....

Pro-Trump lawyer charged in Michigan voting machine tampering case

A Michigan pro-Trump attorney was charged in a state investigation into attempts to tamper with voting machines after the 2020 election, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Driving the news: Stefanie Lambert, who's repeatedly questioned President Biden's election win and was sanctioned in federal court in 2021 for filing a lawsuit seeking to overturn Michigan's results, pleaded not guilty to four felony charges in court on Thursday afternoon, per AP.

Lambert was arraigned before a judge on charges of undue possession of a voting machine, conspiracy to commit undue possession of a voting machine, conspiracy to commit unauthorized access to a computer system and willfully damaging a voting machine.

The big picture: The attorney, whom court records listed under the last name Lambert Junttila, is the third and final person to be charged in the state investigation into unauthorized access to vote tabulators, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors on Tuesday announced similar charges against Matthew DePerno, a failed Republican attorney general candidate who was endorsed by former President Trump, and ex-state GOP Rep. Daire Rendon.

What they're saying: "Protecting the election process is of the utmost importance for our state and country," special prosecutor D.J. Hilson said in a statement to media. "This investigation and prosecution is an important step in that direction."

The other side: "My client was a zealous advocate for her clients and she did not violate the law and intends to sue Hilson for malicious prosecution," Lambert's attorney Michael Smith said in a statement to news outlets.

https://www.axios.com/2023/08/04/mi...NsszfGhFgyqNirXSv28lmyLGgn2M9YA_bn8_x_jk

Our Justice system cannot get these cases through our courts in a timely fashion. It’s ridiculous. The delay tactics will go on forever. And courts allow it. And when sentencing happens after years of delay these traitors of our special democracy will get a slap on the wrist. End of story. Murica will never be the same. trump made murica what it is. And it’s not great. I say if these traitors with trump want civil war, give it to ‘em and let’s bring the hamma down.