Trump campaign pulls Michigan lawsuit after Wayne County certifies votes
U.S. President Donald Trump (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Trump campaign has withdrawn its lawsuit in Michigan after saying that it had achieved its goal to make sure every vote was counted.
In a statement by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, the campaign said it was pulling the lawsuit.
“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 and every illegal vote has not been counted," Giuliani said.
The Wayne County board of canvassers voted to certify the vote late Tuesday night after a contentious vote where GOP canvassers blocked the certification for hours before reversing that move.
The two Republicans who initially blocked the vote both signed an affidavit that they believe the county's process had serious flaws. Both want to rescind their vote but it's not known if that's possible.
Which lawsuit Giuliani is referring to is not entirely clear but multiple lawsuits have been filed by the campaign.
Trump and his lawyers filed a federal lawsuit on Nov. 11 in Michigan against Wayne County and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, claiming irregularities, incompetence, and unlawful vote counting. Trump wanted the state to hold off on certifying the election until it was verified that the votes were cast legally.
The day after Election Day, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit Nov. 4 to halt Michigan’s vote count, claiming it did not have proper access to observing the opening of absentee ballots — which was later dismissed. The Associated Press called Michigan for Biden on the same day.
The suit was filed in the Michigan Court of Claims. The next day, Judge Cynthia Stephens ruled against the campaign after questioning Trump’s attorneys over the evidence that she called hearsay.
Poll watchers from both sides were plentiful at one major polling place in question, the TCF Center in Detroit, according to the Associated Press.
Mark Brewer, a former state Democratic Party chairman who was observing the Detroit vote counting as a volunteer lawyer, said he had been at the TCF Center all day on Nov. 4 and had talked with others who had been there the past couple of days. He said Republicans had not been denied access.
“This is the best absentee ballot counting operation that Detroit has ever had. They are counting ballots very efficiently, despite the obstructing tactics of the Republicans,” Brewer said.
Another lawsuit in Michigan also sought to halt the certification of election results in Detroit, a Democratic stronghold, and the surrounding Wayne County. But on Nov. 6, Judge Timothy Kenny denied the motion for injunctive relief — ruling that the plaintiffs had made “only a claim but have offered no evidence to support their assertions.”
On Nov. 13, Kenny dismissed the lawsuit, saying there were "no sinister fraudulent activities" at the TCF Center on the day ballots were counted.
Separately on Nov. 12, the Trump campaign filed a wide-ranging lawsuit challenging the counting of votes in Wayne County. But according to reports, it was “misfiled” at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., which does not have jurisdiction, and was intended for Western Michigan's U.S. District Court. It was later dismissed by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.