FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
July 13, 2017
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
Report: Michigan Voters May Have Been Targeted by Russia with Help From Trump
Progress Michigan calling for answers from Trump-supporting Schuette
LANSING — Progress Michigan is calling for a response from Attorney General Bill Schuette after a story was published detailing how some Michigan voters may have been the targets of an aggressive fake news campaign by Russia to sway the presidential election allegedly with assistance from Donald Trump’s team.
“As the state’s top law enforcement official and an ardent Trump supporter, Bill Schuette needs to investigate and find answers to what’s being reported,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan.“Michigan’s elections are sacred and we deserve to know where he stands on these reports and what he’s willing to do about residents allegedly being targeted by a foreign government with lies and misinformation.”
According to a news report, the federal investigations into collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia is investigating whether Trump’s team helped guide Russian-backed fake news efforts against Hillary Clinton that targeted certain populations and voting precincts in Michigan.
According to the report: Congressional and Justice Department investigators are focusing on whether Trump’s campaign pointed Russian cyber operatives to certain voting jurisdictions in key states – areas where Trump’s digital team and Republican operatives were spotting unexpected weakness in voter support for Hillary Clinton, according to several people familiar with the parallel inquiries.
It continued: By Election Day, an automated Kremlin cyberattack of unprecedented scale and sophistication had delivered critical and phony news about the Democratic presidential nominee to the Twitter and Facebook accounts of millions of voters. Some investigators suspect the Russians targeted voters in swing states, even in key precincts.
Specifically, it said: The Russians appear to have targeted women and African-Americans in two of the three decisive states, Wisconsin and Michigan, “where the Democrats were too brain dead to realize those states were even in play,” Warner said.
“Bill Schuette backed Trump during the election and continues to be a strong supporter, but we need to know where his true loyalties lie: with the people of Michigan or with his political party,” Scott continued. “We are owed some answers. Schuette should investigate and demand answers from the Trump administration.”
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