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DePerno and state Rep. Daire Rendon, R-Lake City, were part of a group accused of "gain(ing) unauthorized access and compromised tabulators" in Roscommon County, Richfield Township, Lake Township and Irving Township between March and June of 2021, state attorneys allege. Campaign donors love a winner, dump Michigan GOP for Democrats after election, Turns out, young voters didnt sway 22 election in Michigan, records show, Basically broke, Michigan GOP to charge delegates to attend convention, Share the article you just read on Twitter, Share the article you just read on Facebook, Share the article you just read via email, Michigan stopped Ohio toxic waste last week, but we import waste every day, Democrats push Michigan gun reforms. I try not to get emotional when I talk about the guy," Dernis said. On Dec. 18, Karamo released a vision for the party that included converting "'GOP-phobic youth' by transitioning schools from indoctrination to education," giving "precinct delegates control over the party" and holding Republican elected officials "accountable to using the Constitution as their measure for governing.". New York University School of Law Master of Laws (LL.M.) The secret to a good campaign is to peak at the right time," Greenlee said. Lansing Republican Matt DePerno's embrace of former President Donald Trump's unproven election fraud claims moved the Kalamazoo trial lawyer from political obscurity to the front lines. LaBrant labeled DePerno a "fool" with a "checkered past.". As recently as last month, he criticized the GOP-led Legislature for failing to. DePerno is considered a frontrunner for the Michigan Republican Partys nomination for attorney general, along with former state House Speaker Tom Leonard, the GOP nominee in 2018. I think the party recreates itself locally. said DePerno's "skeletons have skeletons. I will issue bench warrants.". Show your unity and support today! I honestly believe on the first vote shes going to have the most votes," Forton said in an interview on the convention floor of Karamo. In 1994, he received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and the following year his Masters in Taxation Law (LL.M.) Democratic President Joe Biden beat Trump by 154,188 votes in Michigan. . Courser, who was accused of using House staff and resources to help cover up an extra-marital affair, ultimately pleaded no contest to a charge of willful neglect of duty by a public officer, a one-year misdemeanor. Maddock called DePerno and Secretary of State hopeful Kristina Karamo the "strongest candidates" to address "the stolen 2020 election" and push for a "forensic audit" of the states voting in that contest. We report because the news impacts all of us. Matt and Laura have three wonderful children who are all current or former students at Michigan State University (MSU). People have to see something worth investing in," she said, "and the party hasnt proven itself to be such.. Buhl, the former judge, had already been retired for six years when he began observing DePernos legal work because he was asked to serve as an expert witness in the Moffits malpractice suit. The probe is completely ridiculous and part of the reason DePerno decided to run for attorney general, he told Bridge, likening it "totalitarianism" since Nessel's office battled him as opposing counsel in the Antrim County case. Were going to be a political machine that strikes fear in the heart of Democrats," Karamo told delegates. Conservative lawyer David Kallman, whose office is based in Lansing, said DePerno has done things he doesn't agree with. Trump has thrown significant political weight behind DePerno, endorsing him, speaking on his behalf at aMar-A-Lago fundraiserand announcing plans to stump for him and other endorsed candidates at aMichigan rally on April 2. Civil rights issues are a main focus of Nessel's, and she founded the Fair Michigan Foundation. And I think were peaking.". In August 2022, Reuters reported that presumptive Republican nominee Matthew DePerno "led a team that gained unauthorized access to voting equipment while hunting for evidence to support former President Donald Trump's false election-fraud claims" following the 2020 election. Other Republican activists also lined up behind DePerno, citing his aggressive approach. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "They are not here. In his original complaint, DePerno alleged he was wrongfully fired from his $110,000 job because he had raised questions about the financial operations of the firm. The settlement was complicated by another lawsuit from DePernos professional liability insurer, who sued him in an attempt to drop him and cancel his policy. Then, on June 23, 2021, DePerno filed a motion to have the bench warrants set aside "nunc pro tunc," essentially meaning the cancellation should be retroactive to the day the warrants were issued in February 2020. It takes working together to restore this great state. DePerno holds an English degree from the University of Michigan, a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy and a graduate degree in taxation from the New York University School of Law. Democratic Gov. Last Name. DePerno took on "several cases regarding the unconstitutional nature of these lockdowns and mandates.". "And yet, here I am running for attorney general to restore integrity, justice and morality in Michigan.. He also represented former state Rep. Todd Courser in a sex scandal cover-up case, which ended with Courser pleading no contest to willful neglect of duty by a public officer. In a related case, involving a malpractice claim against DePerno, he argued the Kreis Enderle firm invented a claim of misconduct to deny him state unemployment benefits. The warrant was recalled when DePerno and The News reached a $20,000 settlement in May 2021. Experts say there isno credible evidenceof fraud in Antrim County, and a hand recount of paper ballots later confirmed the official results showing Trump won the area with 61 percent of the vote, just shy of his 62 percent showing in 2016. Matthew has been attacked many times from elected officials, including current Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, but he has not backed down. On. 2023 Bridge Michigan. On Feb. 6, 2020, Connors signed a bench warrant for DePerno's arrest and for him to be brought before the court "immediately" for failure to appear, according to a document. "The creditor's exam was scheduled for today," Connors said in court on Feb. 7, 2020, according to a transcript. The COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan weeks after the DePerno bench warrant was signed. Ive taken on tough cases. DePerno also has fiercely loyal supporters who defend his legal work, including clients, who contend hed make a strong attorney general. Trump, who has touted DePerno's legal efforts, endorsed him to be Michigan's attorney general on Sept. 16, 2021. The Protect the People political action committee called him a "corrupt lawyer" in one of its ads in recent days. On Nov. 8, voters will decide whether to put him in the attorney general's office. The problematic initial numbers were caused by human errors: Election workers' failure to update equipment after additions to the ballot. However, Democrats overperformed in many of their races, polls have consistently shown. The Michigan Advance was one of the outlets denied media credentials to cover . Forton endorsed Karamo before the first round of voting. DePerno beat Tom Leonard in the second round of voting with 54% of . Natalie DePerno, 23, graduated with an accounting degree from MSU. Two years into what had become a vicious legal fight, DePerno allegedly pressured the Moffits to sign a fee agreement that put their property mortgages up as collateral in the event they could not pay DePernos legal bills, which Buhl described as an unorthodox deal the kind of which he had never seen before. Matt DePerno, an attorney general candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, sued the firm over his firing and denied the allegations in court. The special prosecutor, D.J. A secretary at DePernos second law firm the Veritas Group said in a sworn affidavit that she had heard yelling from the conference room as he met with the Moffits. Trump had actually won the county by 3,788 votes, 61%-37%, a 7,048-vote swing from the unofficial results. Because of the conflict of interest of investigating him, Nessel sought the appointment of a special prosecutor to decide if charges are warranted. "Matthew DePerno showed up the day after the election, using our president's name, taking nearly $400,000 from every one of you," Leonard said during a debate in Oakland County. DePerno skyrocketed to fame in conservative circles in the aftermath of the 2020 election, alleging voting machines were compromised because unofficial results were skewed toward President Joe Biden before they were corrected. In Ingham County, a judge overseeing Todd Coursers criminal case announced he might retire before his term ended because the headache of dealing with DePerno and the other attorneys started to "eat away" at him. Sponsor While the Kries Enderle law firm and DePerno both declined to discuss his contentious departure given their confidential settlement agreement, DePerno downplayed the acrimonious split in general terms. Karamo, DePerno and Lansing political consultant Scott Greenlee were initially the top three vote-getters in what was a nine-person race at the start of the convention Saturday morning in downtown Lansing. Trump's backing helped DePerno win a three-way race at an April convention for the party's attorney general nomination. DePerno has also represented George Dernis, an Illinois businessman who's been in a years-long legal battle involving property in Michigan. He went on to earn a graduate qualification at theNew York University School of Law. Courser, who was accused of using House staff and resources to help cover up an extra-marital affair, ultimately pleaded no contest to a charge of willful neglect of duty by a public officer, a one-year misdemeanor. DePerno told the Lansing publication Gongwer News Service that he had spoken with a sheriff who said his agency wasn't going to enforce the warrant and it became a "nonissue.". Whitmer" for her nursing home policies. A Republican running to be Michigans top law enforcement official was fired from a law firm in 2005 after colleagues alleged he padded client billings for personal and professional benefit, according tocourt recordsreviewed by Bridge Michigan. A lawyer by trade, DePerno rose to political prominence challenging the 2020 presidential election results and spearheading a lawsuit over the vote in northern Michigan's Antrim County. He was fired from one law firm, fought over client records after leaving a second firm and was accused of assaulting a client amid a fee dispute, according to court documents and transcripts reviewed by Bridge Michigan. Asked if he has concerns about how DePerno would handle a future election that's challenged, Greene said yes, but he added there will be "checks and balances," including from the Legislature. The nomination wont be official until a separate August convention, but the early endorsement will allow a candidate to raise funds and campaign as the presumed nominee. As DePerno worked on the 2020 election, his law office's website linked to a fundraising page that brought in nearly $400,000. Matt DePerno concedes Michigan AG race to Dana Nessel Published November 9, 2022 2022 Midterm Elections FOX 2 Detroit Whitmer's victory speech: Michigan is about to 'step on the. Matt DePerno has been dodging questions about his personal finances for years, and this is one more reason why Michiganders cant trust him to be their next AG," said Emily Trifone, deputy communications director at the Democratic Attorneys General Association. The nomination wont be official until a separate August convention, but the early endorsement will allow a candidate to raise funds and campaign as the presumed nominee. Nessel's race was seen as one of the closer statewide campaigns during the tight midterm race. Some of DePerno's arguments became the basis for election deniers across the country, LaBrant said. DePerno, 53, is a Portage-based attorney who primarily works on tax cases and worked primarily in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties. Some Michigan Republicans say they are . The parties later settled for $20,000, which Detroit News publisher and editor Gary Miles called a message that frivolous lawsuits against news organizations for performing their duties under the First Amendment will not be taken lightly.. They've suggested fraud and hacking. The newspaper donated the attorney fees it recovered from DePerno to the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation. Especially if the Judge has expressed a dislike for rapists., Kent County Circuit Court Judge Donald A. Johnston, who presided over the disqualification hearing, denied DePernos request to remove Dodge, and noted that, "I don't know of any judges that have ever expressed a like for rapists.. I'll continue to write good people in on my election ballots. Matt DePerno: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire From Plan B to the 2020 Elections, DePerno continues to lie his way through this election LANSING The Michigan Democratic Party today denounced statements made by GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno regarding his alleged involvement in a plot to illegally access voting tabulation machines. And hes not afraid of what has turned into, unfortunately, a convoluted judicial system., Bill Bailey, a real estate broker who DePerno is representing in the ongoing Antrim County election appeal, called him one of the most honest, hardworking souls I truthfully have ever met.. He moved to Kalamazoo Michigan in 1995 after law school, where he currently resides with his wife of 25 years, Laura and their two dogs Toby and Kodak. In a Feb. 26, 2020, filing in the Court of Appeals, DePerno addressed the warrants facing him and his client. Metro Detroit lawyer Jalal J. Dallo, who practices criminal defense, said bench warrants are typically ordered when someone is supposed to appear in court but doesn't show up. 62. Matt DePerno, an attorney general candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, sued the firm over his firing and denied the allegations in court. About. DePerno is one of nine people who were investigated by Nessel's office for an alleged Michigan vote tabulator tampering scheme. ", Karamo dismissed concerns about declining donations to the state party, saying thats going to change right away.. While the case was ultimately settled, what he saw in pre-trial hearings was abhorrent, Buhl told Bridge Michigan. In a Michigan Court of Appeals filing, DePerno accused lawyers for The News of telling him before the Feb. 6, 2020, hearing that it had been adjourned. DePerno got his law degree at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 1994. A Republican-led state Senate panel that spent months investigating the contest foundno evidence of widespread fraud. Because of the conflict of interest of investigating him, Nessel sought the appointment of a special prosecutor to decide if charges are warranted. On Saturday morning, Macomb County Republican Chairman Mark Forton dropped out of the state chair race, leaving nine remaining candidates. George Dernis, who DePerno has represented in a nearly eight-year legal battle over foreclosure of Michigan properties he'd used as collateral to purchase a grocery store, said DePerno helped guide his family through "hell and back. "And I have had people approach me across the state, and they've asked me, 'Where did that money go?'". Jason Roe, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, said "crazy" had trumped Trump at Saturday's convention. A year later, with the fire reimbursement case seemingly resolved, DePerno presented the Moffits with a $109,879 check from their insurer $13,421 less than the original payment offered three years prior and a $137,779.38 bill for his legal services, according to the malpractice lawsuit. Matthew has been fighting against tyranny in Michigan for many years, including protesting across the state against Whitmer and Nessel's unconstitutional mask mandates, school and business lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and critical race theory. DePerno lost to Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel by 9 percentage points in November. I have fought to try to vindicate President Trump when no one else would., Doing the right thing doesnt always make you popular," DePerno added moments later. Forton said his decision was meant to ensure that a "grassroots-type" hopeful had a chance to win. During her speech before the first vote, Karamo touted her decision last year not to concede the secretary of state race to Benson in November and said the party's current leadership operated like a "political mafia." Buhl, the former judge, had already been retired for six years when he began observing DePernos legal work because he was asked to serve as an expert witness in the Moffits malpractice suit. I've taken on cases that people even in the media have disagreed with.. The grievance commission, the investigative arm of the Michigan Supreme Court, only makes its findings public if it authorizes formal charges against a lawyer with the state Attorney Discipline Board, which it did not do for DePerno. People get into disputes and they say things about each other in litigation, he told Bridge in a phone interview. DePerno had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Develop A Candidate Recruitment Program through the Delegates, Play Offense Not Defense with the Democrats. Karamo defeated unsuccessful GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno of Kalamazoo, a fellow election denier who was endorsed in the party chair race by Trump. Matt DePerno has earned the endorsement of the Michigan Republican Party to take on incumbent Democrat Dana Nessel in November. but he had a falling out with the firm, which accused him of "acts of fraud and dishonesty" and alleged he "padded" his billable hours. Elissa Slotkin announces bid to succeed Debbie Stabenow. Could that Judge then rule on rape cases, or would that create a bias for the Judge? Matt is a native of Michigan and has been a Kalamazoo resident with his wife, Laura, since 1994 after receiving his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy. In 2016, Buhl filed a request asking the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission to investigate DePerno after he was accused of legal malpractice. Getting Trumps endorsement was huge for DePernos campaign. "The Washtenaw County Sheriff Department said they thought the bench warrant was so outrageous that they did not consider it enforceable," Shepard said.