Michigan Advance: Republicans colluded with willing auditor general before formal request for audit was made
LANSING — In case you missed it, in yet another outrageous example of Republicans using any means necessary to thwart the valid results of the 2020 presidential election, Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler met with legislative Republicans and helped write the letter his office ultimately received to commence an audit, according to an investigative report by Michigan Advance.
The media report comes as the 2024 race for president heats up in Michigan, following a successful presidential primary in the state on Feb. 27.
Former GOP Rep. Julie Alexander and Rep. Shane Hernandez, who was staff to House Speaker Jason Wentworth at the time, held multiple meetings with Ringler and reviewed a draft of the letter Alexander eventually submitted to the auditor general. The media report exposed the ham-handed way the auditor general’s staff conducted the partisan audit, including an eyewitness who said staff weren’t interested in accurate vote counts.
“The auditor general is supposed to be non-partisan and independent, yet solid investigative reporting by the Michigan Advance has exposed Ringler as a partisan hack doing the bidding of MAGA extremists hell-bent on attacking the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election,” said Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes. “It’s a disgrace that state taxpayer dollars have been squandered on an office using its status to play partisan politics and silence the voices of millions of Michigan voters. We urge lawmakers to call for a full investigation of Ringler’s conduct in light of these disturbing media reports so we can bring to light what other ways Ringler has aided and abetted Republicans intent on bringing down our democracy to serve Donald Trump and MAGA extremists.”
Read more below:
Michigan Advance: Emails reveal Michigan auditor general helped write GOP draft requesting 2020 election audit
- When Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler initiated an audit of the 2020 election, he did so at the request of a Republican House member. However, emails indicate that Ringler, whose office is supposed to be nonpartisan, actually helped draft the request through a series of previously undisclosed meetings with House Republican leadership staff…
- Instead, emails show it was the result of a month of collaboration between the office of then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth (R-Farwell) and Ringler. That included at least two face-to-face meetings and a string of emails, all to solicit the best way to word the request for an audit that Ringler then acted on…
- ”The OAG is the independent oversight arm of the Legislature, and as such, the legislature — and the people of Michigan — should be able to expect the work of the Auditor General to be objective and nonpartisan,” Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) told the Advance.
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