DETROIT — President Donald Trump used a late-night tweet over the weekend to criticize Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, continuing to push election conspiracies in the waning days of his presidency.
The tweet prompted replies from Nessel, including one line where she told Trump to "stop obsessing about those women from Michigan. You’re not our type."
Trump has repeatedly criticized Nessel, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, all of whom are Democrats. Earlier this year, he called Whitmer "the woman in Michigan." Whitmer embraced the term, as have Nessel, Benson and many of their supporters in the state.
Trump took to Twitter Sunday morning, just past midnight, to engage in what has become a hallmark of his time in office: attacking political opponents on social media. He linked to a story about Nessel's recent comments that she planned to seek sanctions against some attorneys filing election-related lawsuits.
"These lawyers are true patriots who are fighting for the truth and, obviously, getting very close. AG should be sanctioned. Fight on!" Trump tweeted.
Nessel questioned the president's patriotism in response, while joking about the late-night nature of the Twitter attack.
"Can’t a random state AG from the Midwest sleep in on a Sunday morning without waking up to find that the president of the United States has mean-tweeted about you overnight (again)? The answer is “yes” come January 20th," Nessel tweeted.
President-elect Joe Biden is set to assume office Jan. 20.
In early December, Nessel told the Detroit Free Press she intended to seek sanctions against attorneys who perpetuate false information about the election through lawsuits. She's focused on lawsuits filed by Sidney Powell. Although the Trump campaign has tried to disavow her, multiple media outlets have reported the president continues to meet with her and listen to her conspiracies about the election.
Powell and her team have filed lawsuits in swing states across the country, including one in the Eastern District of Michigan. In the lawsuit, they asked the court to overturn the results of the election. In November, U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker ruled against Powell, noting the lawsuit asked the court to overturn the will of millions of voters.
The lawsuits and associated analyses have made a series of inaccurate and outlandish claims. They've said there was evidence of fraud in a Michigan county that does not exist. They've said the Michigan Legislature supports efforts to overturn election results when it does not. They've wildly overexaggerated turnout in several Michigan voting precincts.
"I mean, at some point, you have to hold a lawyer accountable. Because it’s disinformation that they are spreading. It's injurious to our democracy, it’s injurious to our system of elections, it’s injurious to our courts," Nessel said during the Dec. 12 interview.
"People have to be held accountable. These are professionals, who have professional licenses. What does a professional license mean if you’re allowed to bastardize the court system that way."
Others involved in the case, including attorneys representing the city of Detroit and Robert Davis, an activist involved in several lawsuits, have already sought sanctions against Powell. If the court grants these requests, it could order Powell and her team to cover all legal costs and fees for Davis, Detroit and others involved in the lawsuit.
"This is not a legitimate lawsuit; it is a public relations and fundraising weapon being used to advance the false narrative that our democratic system is broken," David Fink and other attorneys representing Detroit wrote in a recent filing.
"Plaintiffs are trying to send the message that our democracy cannot be trusted. It is time for this Court to send a message back: lies and frivolous claims will not be tolerated."
Nessel believes attorneys who knowingly file false and misleading information within a lawsuit are violating the Michigan code of ethics for the legal community. A Nessel spokeswoman on Monday said her office is preparing the sanction complaints and declined to comment on whether others would seek sanctions against the attorney general.
