Pictures surfaced Saturday morning of Michigan GOP’s House Speaker Lee Chatfield, Sen. Mike Shirkey and State Rep. Jim Lilly chatting in the lobby of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
On the table was a $500 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, and not a mask was in sight. The group was apparently having a good time after meeting with Trump to discuss the 2020 election.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Deputy Chief of Staff considered it poor timing in light of their constituents back home dealing with almost 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 on that day.
In a letter sent Saturday, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Michigan Republican Chair Laura Cox urged the State Board of Canvassers to adjourn for 14 days to allow a full audit and investigation so “numerical anomalies and credible reports of procedural irregularities” can be addressed.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate John James, who lost to Senator Gary Peters, also has requested a delay.
Republican state canvasser Norm Shinkle told the Detroit News on Friday that he was considering throwing his support behind an audit or delay of the final certification after two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers unsuccessfully attempted to rescind their certification of the county’s results after learning an audit would not be conducted prior to state certification.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said earlier this week that her agency would perform a post-election audit of Wayne County and some other local jurisdictions. But she said the audit could not be done before state results were certified because election officials don’t have legal access to the documents needed until then, according to the Detroit News.
A group of Michigan voters has filed a lawsuit in D.C. federal court that the challenges and pressure of legislative officials amounted to attempted mass voter suppression by the Trump campaign.