MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Special Advisor Jack Smith subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, seeking communications with or implicating former President Donald Trumphis 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies involved in his efforts to try to overturn the election results.
The requests, addressed to Milwaukee and Dane counties in Wisconsin; Wayne County, Michigan; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Allegheny County, Pa., are the earliest known subpoenas for Smith, who was named special counsel last month by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Smith oversees Justice Department investigation into presence of classified documents at Trump’s estate in Florida as well as key aspects of a separate investigation involving the violent storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021and Trump’s frantic efforts to stay in power.
The subpoenas, some of which were first reported by The Washington Post, are the clearest indication yet that Smith’s work will include an examination of fake voters who were part of Trump’s efforts to overthrow the election count and certification. All of the states where requests have been sent are states that Trump and his allies targeted as they tried to overturn the Democratic vote.
In Pennsylvania, for example, the Trump campaign unsuccessfully sued in court to try to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory, and his allies organized a list of Trump voters to send to Congress. Trump and his allies have also repeatedly reached out to key Republican lawmakers, sometimes asking them to use the GOP-controlled legislature to give lawmakers the power to void elections. They refused.
The subpoenas, two of which were obtained by The Associated Press, seek “all communications in any form” between June 1, 2020 and January 20, 2021, “to, from or involving” Trump, his campaign , his attorneys, and aides including, but not limited to, former campaign officials like Bill Stepien and Justin Clark and attorneys John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Sidney Powell, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani .
In Wisconsin, Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson said he received a subpoena on Monday and was working with the county attorney to comply with the request as soon as possible.
“I don’t see any problem with that,” he said. “A lot of these names are unfamiliar to me, so I don’t know how many of these people have contacted us. For example, I don’t remember receiving anything from Rudy Giuliani. I think I would have remembered. But who knows.”
Christenson said he hoped the documents would help the investigation, but he didn’t expect to hand over anything that hadn’t already been made public.
“I don’t expect to find a gun,” Christenson said.
Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said he received a similar subpoena on Dec. 1, asking for communications he had with “the gang of people you would sort of expect.”
McDonell said the only person on the list with whom his office had any interaction was Jim Troupis, Trump’s attorney based in Wisconsin. Trump ordered a recount of ballots in Milwaukee and Dane counties, the two largest Democratic counties in Wisconsin, after the 2020 election. Troupis led the legal effort to not count the tens of thousands of ballots absentee votes in this election, including his own.
McDonell said he didn’t expect his response to the subpoena to reveal anything that “hasn’t been covered in the past.”
“I have no history of Trump calling me at dinner like the other guys,” McDonell said.
In Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson confirmed that Wayne County had received a subpoena from Smith, but did not provide additional information about what he was looking for.
“We commend and support the work of any law enforcement agency that works to ensure full accountability for efforts to unlawfully nullify the fair and accurate results of Michigan’s 2020 election,” Benson said. in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
Trump’s efforts to cancel Michigan’s 2020 election have focused on the Detroit Convention Hall, located in Wayne County. Trump falsely claimed poll workers there were ‘duplicating ballots’ and an unsuccessful trial by his campaign on Election Day forced poll workers to temporarily halt vote counting in the state’s largest city. .
Another lawsuit was filed by multiple attorneys, including Trump allies Powell and L. Lin Wood, after the 2020 election on behalf of six Republican voters who wanted a federal judge to overturn certification of Michigan’s results. and confiscates voting machines. The judge refused, calling the request “staggering in scope and mind-boggling in scope.”
Trump and his allies have also focused on voting machines in County Antrim, just north of Detroit. Republican nominee for Attorney General Matthew DePerno, who lost to Democratic incumbent Dana Nessel midterm in 2022, sued County Antrim, saying voting machines there recorded votes for Trump as being for Biden . A Michigan special prosecutor is currently considering whether to charge DePerno and others for trying to access voting machines after this election.
Michigan State Department spokeswoman Angela Benander said the department was not aware of any other counties receiving subpoenas from Smith.
In Arizona, Maricopa County has also received a subpoena and will comply with it, county spokesman Fields Moseley said.
The county, which includes the Phoenix area and more than 60% of Arizona voters, had been a centerpiece of Trump’s efforts to void the election and cast doubt on the results.
Trump allies have tried to pressure Republicans on the County Board of Supervisors not to certify its loss in 2020, and when they did, they continued to try to reach them as Congress prepared to tally the electoral votes on January 6. Clint Hickman, then chairman of the board, dodged calls from the White House operator, who left voicemails saying the president was trying to reach him.
In Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, the second most populous in the state and home to Pittsburgh, also received a subpoena, a spokesperson confirmed.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on Tuesday.
In addition to the DOJ, Fulton County Attorney Fani Willis also investigated whether Trump and his allies illegally attempted to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 election. ___
Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.