Lawyer in Karamo lawsuit targeting Detroit yells at judge, cites debunked film

During a court hearing that lasted nearly nine hours, the attorney representing GOP secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo in a legal bid seeking to halt the count of tens of thousands of absentee ballots in Detroit yelled at the judge, cited a widely debunked film that has furthered conspiracies about ballot drop boxes and pressed for specific details about election security plans in Michigan's largest city ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm.

Attorney Daniel Hartman grew angry when Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Kenny noted that the lawsuit would prevent military voters deployed overseas from having their ballots counted in the election because the complaint asks the court declare only absentee ballots requested in person can count.

"You are asking for ... somebody who wants an absentee ballot has to come in to the Detroit clerk's office. That excludes the military," Kenny said, raising his voice and noting that his own son served in the military.

"To characterize me as trying to disenfranchise the military voter is offensive," Hartman yelled in response.

"I'm tired of being called a racist by Mr. Fink," he said, referring to David Fink, the lawyer representing Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey in the case, who called the lawsuit "blatant racism" reminiscent of Jim Crow-era voter disenfranchisement during a hearing Monday.

"I'm tired of Mr. Fink saying I’m trying to disenfranchise the heroes in the military when I’m trying to secure this election," Hartman continued.

More:Detroiters see disenfranchisement in Karamo bid to tweak majority-Black city's voting rules

More:Kristina Karamo seeks court order that could impact thousands of Detroit voters

Karamo, one of several GOP candidates running for secretary of state in key battleground states backed by former President Donald Trump, filed the legal challenge less than two weeks before the upcoming midterm.

Kenny said the lawsuit was filed at the "eleventh hour" and asked for a "substantial and radical alteration ... the eve of the general election."

Detroit voters, prominent political leaders from the city and the Detroit Branch NAACP decried Karamo's lawsuit as an attempt to disenfranchise thousands of voters in the nation's largest majority-Black city. And during the lengthy hearing held over Zoom, Kenny asked why the lawsuit targets Detroit voters.

"Is there a reason why you didn't file this in Petoskey?" Kenny asked, referring to the city where Hartman's law office is based.

"I'm an attorney. I'm not the plaintiff here," he said. Multiple times during the hearing, Hartman referred to his clients as Detroit residents who hired him to bring the lawsuit. The complaint lists only one plaintiff in the case — Patricia Farmer — as a Detroit resident.

As the hearing reached its end, Hartman cited the widely debunked "2,000 Mules" film by a far-right provocateur purportedly showing illegal votes returned via drop boxes election experts say provides no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Kenny repeatedly shot down Hartman's attempts to discuss previous elections in a lawsuit seeking an extreme intervention by the court ahead of the upcoming one. At one point, Hartman accused Kenny of "handcuffing" him.

Ahead of the hearing Thursday, Hartman sought to disqualify Kenny and all Wayne County Circuit Court judges from presiding over the case. Hartman alleged that if a visiting judge didn't hear the case, it would create an appearance of impropriety.

Hartman withdrew the motion for disqualification during a hearing Monday when he learned that as chief judge, Kenny presides over all election-related cases and that his name does not appear on the ballot for the upcoming midterm because he will retire in several weeks.

At multiple points during the hearing Thursday, Kenny prevented Hartman from asking questions related to security plans in place in Detroit, such as where security personnel would be assigned in the Detroit absentee counting room. Fink suggested answers to those questions might benefit those trying to interfere with the Detroit election.

But the bulk of the evidentiary hearing held over Zoom focused on election minutia from the election equipment used in Detroit to the layout of the room where Detroit election workers process absentee ballots cast by the city's voters. For hours, Hartman grilled former Michigan elections director Chris Thomas, who came out of retirement to serve as an adviser for Winfrey ahead of the 2020 election.

Kenny took issue with some questions from Hartman, saying Hartman was inquiring about hypothetical situations regarding how election officials in Detroit might handle different election scenarios.

"This is as close to fishing as it gets," Kenny said at one point.

Early on in the hearing, Kenny issued a stern warning after Hartman interrupted Fink. Kenny said he would not tolerate any interruptions and threatened to mute those who failed to follow his instructions.

Kenny's patience seemed to wear thin at times.

He repeatedly asked Hartman to rephrase his questions. Following one question from Hartman related to how Detroit election workers review ballot images, Kenny said he was "more than a little confused." Kenny also sustained multiple objections raised by Fink, who accused Hartman of asking questions not germane to the administration of the upcoming election in Detroit.

Hartman honed in on election observers' access to a platform in the central area of the Detroit counting room where election results data is collected, according to Daniel Baxter, who oversees the absentee counting boards.

Baxter and Thomas noted that poll challengers don't have access to the platform. Thomas cited media reports about calls to unplug voting machines. Ryan Kelley, a GOP gubernatorial candidate who lost the August primary, urged party supporters to unplug voting machines if they thought they saw malfeasance during his campaign.

Kenny scheduled another hearing in the case for 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Election officials recommend voters who have requested and received their absentee ballots complete and return them as soon as possible in person at their local clerk's office or a drop box to avoid postal delays. Those eligible can register to vote and cast a ballot until 8 p.m. on Election Day, which is Nov. 8. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Kenny does not appear on the ballot this year.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lengthy hearing tests Karamo lawsuit targeting Detroit voters