LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield says President Donald Trump did not ask Michigan Republican lawmakers to “break the law” or “interfere” with the election during a meeting at the White House Friday.
Chatfield was among seven Republican legislators who met with Trump for about an hour, amid his longshot efforts to block Biden’s win. His comments came a day before State Board of Canvassers plans to meet about whether to certify Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in theMichigan.
“There was this outrage that the president was going to ask us to break the law, he was going to ask us to interfere, and that just simply didn’t happen,” he told Fox News of the meeting. He did not elaborate on what was discussed, except to say the delegation asked for additional federal aid to help Michigan’s coronavirus response.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, who also met with Trump, said in a Sunday tweet that the state canvassers might “take the full time allowed by law to perform their duties” instead of voting Monday and said “it’s inappropriate for anyone to exert pressure on them.” The final deadline for the state to certify results is December 13, 2020.
Michigan’s elections agency has recommended that the November 3 results, including Biden’s 2.8-percentage point victory, be certified by the Board of State Canvassers, which has two Democrats and two Republicans. The Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party want the board to adjourn for 14 days to investigate alleged irregularities in Wayne County.
6th District Republican U.S. Rep. Fred Upton told CNN Sunday that “the voters spoke” and the state had no razor-thin presidential race.
“No one has come up with any evidence of fraud or abuse,” he said. He called the request to delay the certification “out of bounds.”
