Trump Withdraws Michigan Lawsuit, Cites Wayne County Canvassers

MICHIGAN — The campaign of President Donald Trump is withdrawing its lawsuit in Michigan, with campaign officials saying it served its purpose by stopping the election in Wayne County from being prematurely certified.

"This morning we are withdrawing our lawsuit in Michigan as a direct result of achieving the relief we sought: to stop the election in Wayne County from being prematurely certified before residents can be assured that every legal vote has been counted and every illegal vote has not been counted," Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said in a statement.

It is not yet clear which lawsuit Giuliani is referring to as the Trump campaign has filed several lawsuits throughout Michigan seeking election-related changes.

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted to certify the Nov. 3 election results from Wayne County late Tuesday night after a nearly six-hour meeting in which several Detroit residents spoke out against the board's initial decision to note certify the ballots.

Wayne County Board of Canvassers Chair Monica Palmer and William Hartmann — two Republicans who first deadlocked the board's vote to certify election results 2-2 before eventually opting to certify the results under the condition unbalanced precincts are audited — filed affidavits Wednesday night demanding they be able to rescind their votes for certification.

The two members said they were threatened by comments delivered during the public comment portion of the meeting.

"After the vote, public comment period began and dozens of people made personal remarks against me and Mr.. Hartmann," Palmer said in her affidavit. "The comments made accusations of racism and threatened me and members of my family. The public comment continued for over two hours and I felt pressured to continue the meeting without break."

However, election results in Wayne County are still certified based on the board's vote Tuesday.

Jonathan Kinloch, a Democratic board member of the Wayne County Canvassers, said the board approved a motion waiving reconsideration of the certification.

"We had a definite deadline of 14 days to certify, and they knew that. This is now out of our purview," he told the Detroit Free Press.