Michigan Democrats push DOJ to investigate 11 GOP lawmakers for 'seditious conspiracy': report

On Wednesday, The Detroit News reported that Democratic state lawmakers in Michigan have introduced a resolution calling on the Justice Department to investigate 11 of their GOP counterparts for "seditious conspiracy."

"Sponsored by state Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, the proposal is extremely unlikely to gain traction in the GOP-controlled House but underscores Democrats' beliefs that federal authorities should probe the actions that high-ranking Michigan Republicans took in the wake of Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden," said the report. "Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes or 3 percentage points, a result that's been upheld by a series of court rulings, more than 200 audits and an investigation by the Republican-run Michigan Senate's oversight committee. But some of the former president's supporters have maintained unproven claims that widespread fraud swung the race."

"An essential element of being a legislator is accepting the peaceful transition of power when the people choose different leaders, and these members failed to faithfully discharge the duties of their office by acting to undermine this basic tenet of democracy," stated the resolution. "Michigan residents deserve better leaders than people who would subvert their own government to remain in power."

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Michigan was one of several states targeted by former President Donald Trump and his allies as part of a plot to throw out election results. Like many other states Biden narrowly won, several Republican operatives declared themselves to be "alternate" electors for Trump, with the idea being either the legislature could submit them instead of the lawfully certified electors won by Joe Biden, or that former Vice President Mike Pence could use them as pretext to throw out the votes of Michigan altogether. The DOJ is investigating this plot.

"Five of the Republican lawmakers — state Reps. Julie Alexander of Hanover, Beth Griffin of Mattawan, Matt Maddock of Milford, John Reilly of Oakland Township and Daire Rendon of Lake City — were entangled in a plot to advance a false slate of Republican presidential electors, claiming Trump won Michigan, according to the resolution," noted the report. The lawmakers themselves didn't sign the false electors certificate, contending Trump got Michigan's 16 electoral votes, but were involved in the effort, including the GOP electors' unsuccessful attempts to gain access on Dec. 14, 2020, to the Michigan Capitol.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has also come under scrutiny after his office forwarded lists of fake electors from Michigan, as well as his home state of Wisconsin, to Pence's office.