President Trump fired off on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel after she announced the state would seek to sanction attorneys who “intentionally misrepresented claims of voter fraud.” The president blasted Nessel and called the attorneys “true patriots fighting for the truth.” Nessel is teaming up with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to push for sanctions against Republican lawyers, one of which is the ousted pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell
President Trump shared an article about Nessel writing, “These lawyers are true patriots who are fighting for the truth and, obviously, getting very close. AG should be sanctioned. Fight on!”
Michigan AG Dana Nessel Pursues Sanctions Against Lawyers Questioning Election https://t.co/Hb5xckedoN via @BreitbartNews These lawyers are true patriots who are fighting for the truth and, obviously, getting very close. AG should be sanctioned. Fight on!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 27, 2020
The Daily Wire reports:
“Some of these cases where we know for a fact there were intentional misrepresentations made — the kind of misrepresentation that there is no question of fact that these were inaccurate statements that were presented to the court — yes, myself and also Secretary Benson, will be filing complaints to the attorney grievance commission,” Nessel said.
Nessel and Benson also intend to file complaints against lawyers who brought election lawsuits in other states, as well. Michigan has yet to file complaints against any attorneys, but Nessel says that she intends to begin filing complaints after all the legal challenges over the election are concluded.
Nessel has sought to punish Republicans for questioning the result of the election in Michigan, or for even meeting with Trump to discuss Michigan’s election outcome. In November, Nessel reportedly explored whether she could bring criminal charges against GOP state lawmakers who met with the president and attempted to block the certification of electors for Biden.
Jonathan Turley, a professor with the Georgia Washington Law School, described Nessel’s press for retaliation as an “abusive use” of the law.
“When Democrats like Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Cal.) challenged the certification of Ohio’s electoral votes in 2004, no one suggested criminal investigations. Nessel is threatening state legislators that, if they meet to discuss such objections, they might be targets of criminal investigations. That would seem an effort to use the criminal code for the purposes of intimidation or coercion,” Turley said.
President Trump has yet to concede the election to Joe Biden and has contested the election results in courts across the country.
