Michigan GOP Leader Mike Shirkey’s testimony was featured in a video that aired during the Jan. 6 committee’s hearing on how President Trump pressured state legislators to overturn election results in 2020.
You may remember that in Nov. 2020, after the election, Shirkey and the then-Republican House Speaker, Lee Chatfield, were summoned to the White House by Trump, who was claiming election fraud in the state without any real evidence. Trump wanted state legislators to refuse to certify election results on the basis of false fraud claims.
Shirkey and Chatfield flew to Washington, and after the meeting, they released a joint statement, stating that they used their time with Trump to push for more COVID-19 funding in the state.
“We have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan and as legislative leaders, we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors, just as we have said throughout this election,” the statement read in part. It was unclear if this conversation happened with Trump, or if it was just part of the joint statement. But it appears that today, Shirkey confirmed it was part of the conversation.
In testimony featured in Tuesday’s hearing on the Capitol insurrection, Shirkey says he told Trump that “they were going to follow the law” on election certification.
The video showed a Trump tweet that released Shirkey’s phone number, asking supporters to call him and urge an investigation into the alleged fraud.
“Just shy of 4,000 text messages in a short amount of time, calling to take action,” Shirkey said in the testimony video. “They were believing things that were untrue.”