‘I have been indicted,’ says suspect in Michigan vote machine tampering probe

Aug. 11: Records: Michigan voting machines exchanged at mall, ‘manipulated’ in hotels
August 3: Pro-Trump attorney is third indicted in Michigan vote machine probe

• Stefanie Lambert, suspect in Michigan vote machine tampering case, says she has been indicted
• Lambert is one of nine suspects loyal to former President Donald Trump referred to special prosecutor last year
• The suspects, including the sheriff of Barry County, are accused of trying to find evidence the 2020 election was rigged against Trump

LANSING — A key suspect in an alleged plot to illegally access Michigan voting machines following the 2020 presidential election says she has been indicted in the long-running probe and expects to be arraigned next week. 

“My attorney has been informed that I have been indicted by DJ Hilson, the special prosecutor in Michigan, working at the request of (Attorney General) Dana Nessel,” Stefanie Lambert said Wednesday on a conservative podcast, where she bashed the pending criminal action. 

“I'm not losing any sleep over this,” continued Lambert, a metro Detroit attorney who has worked for 2020 election deniers across the country. “I know that I've done absolutely nothing illegal. My clients have not done anything illegal.”

Bridge Michigan could not independently verify her assertions late Wednesday.

Related:

• Muskegon prosecutor to consider charges in DePerno tabulator tampering case
• Report: Trump allies sought election data in Antrim, Wayne counties
• Matthew DePerno: Dana Nessel’s election probe worthy of Saddam Hussein

Lambert is one of nine suspects Nessel referred to a special prosecutor last fall, citing an alleged tabulator tampering plot that aimed to prove former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims the 2020 contest was rigged against him.

Court records show Hilson convened a secret grand jury to review evidence. It is the grand jury that would decide any indictments.

In a Thursday morning email, Hilson said he could "neither confirm nor deny the existence of a grand jury or any indictments" because of state law prohibiting disclosure in such cases until defendants are in custody. 

"Regardless of what any person may say, I am still bound by law and intend to follow it," Hilson told Bridge. 

Other suspects in the case include former state Rep. Daire Rendon of Lake City, Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, officials with the Cyber Ninjas security firm and former Republican attorney general candidate Matt DePerno, who did not return a voicemail seeking comment late Wednesday. 

In last year’s request for a special prosecutor, the attorney general’s office alleged Lambert and others "orchestrated a coordinated plan to gain access” to voting machines in multiple jurisdictions following the 2020 presidential election.

The suspects allegedly took five ballot tabulators from Barry, Roscommon and Missaukee counties to Oakland County. There, Michigan State Police contend the machines were "broken into" for "tests," according to court filings. 

An Oakland County Circuit Court judge this month paved the way for a charging decision in the tabulator tampering case by granting Hilson’s request for a legal interpretation of a law banning “undue possession” of voting equipment. 

Judge Phyllis McMillen ruled that Michigan law only allows access to voting machines with authorization of the Secretary of State or a court order, rejecting Lambert’s arguments that a local election clerk could provide access.

Court records indicate Hilson had sought the judicial interpretation before providing final instructions to the grand jury.   

“The police investigation is now sufficiently complete and a charging decision is ready to be made by the charging entity,” Hilson wrote in a May 9 filing.

Lambert, who did not respond to a request for comment on this story, is also mired in other legal battles. A cyber security expert sued her last week in Detroit federal court, alleging she refused to pay him and was "furious" after he reviewed Pennsylvania election data for her but found no evidence of fraud. 

In the tabulator tampering case, Lambert is now asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn the Oakland Circuit Court interpretation of state law, arguing she and other suspects accused had probed voting machines “at the behest of county clerks and county sheriffs.”

Hilson responded on Tuesday, asking the court to reject Lambert's appeal because, among other things, it was "incomprehensible” and the Oakland County case is already closed. 

In her Wednesday podcast appearance, Lambert lambasted Hilson for using the grand jury to issue indictments instead of making a charging decision by himself. She reiterated a previous threat to sue him. 

“He thought that he could get the grand jury to do his dirty work and insulate himself from a suit, but that's false,” Lambert said. “He misrepresented the law to them. I'm totally going to sue him for doing this.”