Nessel Says DePerno Breached Voting System, Wants Special Prosecutor

MICHIGAN — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called for a special prosecutor to investigate nine individuals after she said they gained unauthorized access to voting tabulators after the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, according to a petition filed by Nessel.

The petition says nine high-profile figures, including her November opponent Matthew DePerno, illegally obtained five voting tabulators from four Michigan counties and broke into them to perform "tests."

The voting tabulators were taken from Lake City Township, Irving Township, Richfield Township and Roscommon County, according to the petition.

The scheme took place between March 11, 2021, and late June 2021, according to the petition. All impacted tabulators were seized by officials as evidence for their investigation and decommissioned from use in any future elections.

The attorney's general office and Michigan State Police began investigating third party-access to the tabulators in Roscommon County on Feb. 10.

State Rep. Daire Rendon of Lake City, Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, Jeff Lenberg, Ben Cotton, James Penrose, Douglas Logan, Stefanie Lambert Juntilla and Ann Howard were also named in the petition along with the Republican attorney general candidate.

After convincing local clerks to hand over the voting tabulators, Lenberg, Cotton, Penrose and Logan took them to Oakland County hotels or Airbnbs, where they broke into them, printed "fake ballots" and performed "tests," according to the petition.

Officials said an investigation determined DePerno was present at a hotel room during such "testing," according to the petition.

Officials also said the same investigation determined State Rep. Rendon convinced the Roscommon County clerk that the House of Representatives was conducting an investigation in election fraud.

Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf also convinced Irving Township Clerk Sharon Olson to cooperate with investigators regarding an election fraud investigation, according to the petition. She also turned over the voting tabulator.

Since DePerno is running against Nessel in the Nov. 8 election, Nessel sought the appointment of a special prosecuting to avoid any potential conflict of interest, according to the petition. DePerno declined to comment on this story.

"When this investigation began, there was not a conflict of interest," wrote Danielle Hagaman-Clark, chief of the Attorney General's criminal trials and appeals division, in a letter to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. "However, during the course of the investigation, facts were developed that DePerno was one of the prime instigators of the conspiracy."

Nessel asked the prosecutor to consider charges including conspiracy, using a computer system to commit a crime, willfully damaging a voting machine, malicious destruction of property, fraudulent access to a computer or computer system and false pretenses, according to the petition.

"There must be consequences for those who break the law to undermine our elections and further political goals," Jocelyn Benson Tweeted Sunday night.