Nessel is now asking for a special prosecutor to be appointed to avoid a potential conflict of interest. The investigation into voting machine breaches has unearthed facts that indicate DePerno and two other associates may have broken the law when they “orchestrated a coordinated plan to gain access to voting tabulators,” according to Nessel’s office.
“When this investigation began there was not a conflict of interest. However, during the course of the investigation, facts were developed that DePerno was one of the prime instigators of the conspiracy,” Nessel’s office wrote in an August 5 petition for the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Counsel to appoint a special prosecutor.
The request from Nessel’s office alleges that DePerno was present in a hotel room in early 2021 when a group of individuals performed unauthorized “tests” on voting tabulators they had seized from multiple Michigan counties — suggesting investigators have evidence that directly links him to the potentially illegal breaches.
“We have requested the appointment of a Special Prosecuting Attorney to review the case for the issuance of possible criminal charges against several of the individuals involved. We view the actions of these individuals to be very serious,” Nessel’s office wrote in a letter to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a fellow Democrat, summarizing the investigation’s findings.
The probe in Michigan reflects a growing number of incidents uncovered around the country where Trump supporters attempted to gain access to voting systems, as part of efforts to overturn or undermine the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. It also comes as several Trump-endorsed candidates have won the Republican nomination for roles that could position them to oversee future elections in key battleground states going forward.
They succeeded in at least one instance in late November 2020, when a team of pro-Trump operatives traveled to Antrim County, Michigan, and conducted an audit of voting systems there, according to court documents released as part of a failed lawsuit filed by attorneys working on behalf of the former President at the time.
Among the evidence investigators in Michigan say they have uncovered as part of their probe into voting machine breaches are digital IDs that DePerno had used as evidence in the failed suit.
“There must be consequences for those who broke the law to undermine our elections in order to advance their own political agendas,” Benson told CNN in a statement.
She added, “The Republican, Democratic and nonpartisan election clerks of this state do their jobs with professionalism and integrity, and we will continue to ensure they are equipped with a full understanding of the legal protections in place to block bad actors from pressuring them to gain access to secure election systems.”