Michigan fake electors acted 'at the direction' of Trump: court filing

A court document submitted by a Michigan Republican charged in the fake elector scheme claims she and 15 others acted "at the direction" of Donald Trump.

An attorney for false Trump elector Amy Facchinello, of Grand Blanc, alleges in the court filing that an attorney for the former president was present at a Dec. 14, 2020, meeting of the Republican electors in Lansing and advised them "that performance of their duties was necessary on behalf of the president and the Constitution," reported The Detroit News.

"Attorneys for the president specifically instructed Ms. Facchinello that the Republican electors’ meeting and casting their ballots on Dec. 14, 2020, was consistent with counsels’ advice and was necessary to preserve the presidential election contest," wrote attorney Paul Stablein in the filing.

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Stablein did not identify the Trump lawyer, but The Detroit News has previously reported the former president's campaign lawyer Shawn Flynn was at the Michigan GOP headquarters for the event.

The new filing was part of an effort to move Facchinello's prosecution out of state court in Ingham County and into federal court, and Stablein was arguing that his client and her co-defendants were acting at the direction of federal officers.

The filing also undercuts comments by co-defendant Michele Lundgren, of Detroit, who said she was not aware what she was signing at the meeting and believed she was only putting her name on "a sign-in sheet."