Special counsel has interviewed senior state official in Michigan in Trump probe, report says

Justice Department investigators have interviewed Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as part of their investigation into Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Ms Benson’smeeting with prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith took place last month and lasted for “several hours”, a source told CNN.

Michigan was one of the crucial battleground states targetted by the former president and his allies as he tried to overturn Joe Biden’s legal victory, which is now the subject of a DoJ probe.

Her interview with Mr Smith’s team took place after her office was subpoenaed and provided a tranche of documents to the special prosecutor that included communications between the state’s election officials and Mr Trump’s former lawyers and members of his campaign.

In one email a Michigan election official reported receiving a voicemail from a person claiming to be a lawyer working for Rudy Giuliani, who was then Mr Trump’s personal attorney.

“While the City Clerk of Rochester Hills, Michigan, I received voicemails in December 2020 specifically requesting access to the election equipment,” the email read, reported CNN.

The official also included an audio file of a call that came in from a “lawyer with Rudy Giuliani’s team,” according to the news network.