Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump campaign dismisses last remaining lawsuit in Michigan as voter fraud claims widely debunked

President’s personal lawyer continues promoting false claims while pulling out of key lawsuit

Chris Riotta
New York
Thursday 19 November 2020 17:04 GMT
Comments
Rudy Giuliani returns to court as attorney for first time in decades on Trump's behalf
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has dismissed its final lawsuit against the electoral process in Michigan on Thursday, as multiple challenges the campaign filed have recently been tossed out of federal courts in key states.

The president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who is leading the campaign’s battle against the national vote, falsely claimed in a statement: “This morning we are withdrawing our lawsuit in Michigan as a direct result of achieving the relief we sought: to stop the election in Wayne County from being prematurely certified before residents can be assured that every legal vote has been counted.”

However, the board did in fact vote to certify the results of the election. 

Both Mr Trump and Mr Giuliani have promoted false claims surrounding the results of the 2020 US elections, falsely alleging “millions" of votes were “illegally added” to the system without any credible evidence of mass voter fraud. The vast majority of their lawsuits have meanwhile proven frivolous, with multiple firms that previously signed up to represent the campaign having abruptly pulled out of cases in states where Mr Trump lost to President-elect Joe Biden.

In a seemingly desperate, last-ditch effort to stop Michigan from certifying the results of its election against him, Mr Trump reportedly reached out to canvassers in Wayne County to thank them for their support. After his outreach, the Republican canvassers said the vote “should not be certified” in signed affidavits.

Trump personally called two Republicans who now oppose certifying Detroit-area votes

GOP canvasser says she felt no pressure from president to change her vote

No court in the US has found any credible evidence of fraud, and the president’s lawyers have even been forced to admit that their lawsuits were alleging instances of fraud. 

Michigan officials said Wayne County could not revoke its certification of the results, despite efforts by the local Republicans to have Mr Biden’s win overturned.

Tracy Wilmmer, spokesperson for the Michigan secretary of state, said in a statement that once the results have been officially certified, there is no way to abruptly reverse course.

“There is no legal mechanism for them to rescind their vote,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “Their job is done, and the next step in the process is for the Board of State Canvassers to meet and certify.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in