President Donald Trump's latest interference in the 2020 election may constitute federal crimes, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey told Boston Public Radio on Friday.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Republican state lawmakers at the White House, as Michigan prepares to certify the results of the election, where President-elect Joe Biden won. This meeting comes after Trump called at least one Republican election official in Wayne County, Michigan, after she voted to certify Biden's victory there.
Following Trump's call to the election official in Wayne County, she and another Republican official asked to rescind their votes, even though there is no mechanism for them to do so. The deadline for the state to certify the results is Monday.
"What the President is doing right now raises really serious questions about criminal wrongdoing and misconduct," Healey said.
Healey noted that Trump's efforts to target Wayne County, home to Detroit, could violate federal civil rights laws. Detroit is Michigan's largest city and the biggest majority-Black city in America, according to NPR affiliate WDET.
"It is illegal to encourage or pressure a state or local official to engage in this conduct or to neglect their duties. There are any number of offenses that may apply under federal law, the right to vote also includes the right to have your vote counted," said Healey. "This targeted attack on Wayne County is a pretty obvious hit on Black voters in Michigan, that also raises serious federal civil rights laws that forbid that kind of conduct. We're watching very closely."
Healey said her office has contacted counterparts in Michigan and other states, as Trump's legal team files lawsuits alleging widespread voter fraud, with little to no evidence.
Healey said she is confident that President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn into office, but that optimism shouldn't be an excuse for inaction.
"It is up to others in power in our institutions to be really clear about what our democratic processes require, how our government works, and to make sure that we are moving ahead," she said. "I'm sure in time we will learn exactly what was said in those conversations ... and I think law enforcement will be watching very very closely. But that crosses a line in my view to an area of conduct that is highly improper to say the least, but also raises any number of issues with respect to whether criminal laws, state and federal, have been broken."
On speculation that Healey is on the short list for the top job in the Department of Justice under a Biden administration, Healey deferred, only saying that she looks forward to working with the administration, but is focused on her current job.
