DETROIT – There have been a lot of links made to Michigan and the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection -- whether it’s group coordination, to first enter the Michigan Capitol with guns or to go through Michigan’s courts to overturn the 2020 General Election.
Now those who have been tasked with finding out what happened want to know who in Michigan may have helped sow the seeds that grew into a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.
The commission is asking for records and documents from the National Archives detailing conversations between President Donald Trump’s White House and three Michigan officials -- former State House speaker Lee Chatfield, State Senate majority leader Mike Shirkey and Wayne County Canvass Board member Monica Palmer.
Palmer was among those who initially voted to not certify the election results in Detroit, but changed her mind. She received a personal phone call from then-president Trump and tried to undo her changed vote.
Trump also leaned on Chatfield and Shirkey to change election results in Michigan. He invited the pair to the White House for a meeting in Novembers. Shirkey said the election did come up, but they did not talk about changing the results.
Nov. 19, 2020: Trump invites top Michigan lawmakers to White House amid longshot bid to overturn election result
Local 4 was at the airport when Shirkey landed. He ignored reporters and sung a hymn as he walked past.
Local 4 did not receive a comment back from Shirkey’s office and was unable to reach Chatfield or Palmer.
Legal experts claim the records will be the jumping point for what is expected to be a long process.
“In the end, it seems that all three of those officials did the right thing and exercise their duty, so I don’t know that they have anything to worry about,” said legal analyst Barb McQuade. “There may be more witnesses to wrongdoing than wrongdoers themselves.”
Also on the list are Kraken lawsuit lawyer Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani -- both major players in lawsuits attempting to overturn the election results in Michigan.
The commission is also asking for any documents or records of how these cases were put together and argued from the National Archives.
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