Barry County sheriff's suit must be dismissed because he didn't sign it, state police says

Lansing — A lawsuit that claims Michigan officials "usurped" the powers of Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf to investigate the 2020 presidential election must be dismissed because the sheriff failed to sign the complaint, an attorney for the state argued in a Tuesday filing.

Leaf and his lawyer, Stefanie Lambert, revealed their suit in early June, arguing that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan State Police were obstructing Leaf's probe by conducting an investigation into his actions.

The Detroit News reported on Sunday that Nessel's office had asked for the appointment of a special prosecutor to consider potential charges against nine individuals in an alleged plot to obtain and break into voting tabulators. Leaf and Lambert were among the nine.

Wednesday's 19-page filing by Eric Jamison, an assistant attorney general and an attorney for the Michigan State Police, was the first official response from the state to Leaf's lawsuit.

Jamison focused on a law that says a lawsuit against the state or any of its agencies must contain "a signature and verification by the claimant before an officer authorized to administer oaths."

Leaf's lawsuit, which named the Michigan State Police as a defendant, was signed by Lambert. It included a handwritten note from Leaf as an exhibit, but the "affidavit" wasn't notarized.

"Here, Leaf’s complaint contains neither his signature nor any attempt at verification," Jamison wrote in the filing. "Rather, Leaf’s attorney merely signed the complaint via electronic signature."

Leaf's handwritten note was one sentence, saying he has been "working on an investigation" into election law violations. Nearly two years after the November 2020 election, Leaf has provided no proof of his claims.

Jamison urged Michigan Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro to dismiss Leaf's suit because of the defects in the filing.

In February, Benson asked Nessel's office and the Michigan State Police to investigate reports that an "unnamed third party" was granted access to voting technology in Roscommon County.

Following a months-long investigation, Nessel's office on Friday sought the appointment of a special prosecutor to consider an array of potential criminal charges against nine individuals, including Republican attorney general candidate Matt DePerno, state Rep. Daire Rendon, R-Lake City, Leaf and Lambert.

The group's efforts involved convincing local clerks to hand over tabulators, taking the tabulators to hotels or rental properties in Oakland County, breaking into the machines, printing "fake ballots" and performing "tests" on the equipment, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Sharon Olson, the clerk in Irving Township in Barry County, "indicated that she was asked by Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf to cooperate with investigators regarding an election fraud investigation," according to the petition from the Attorney General's office for a special prosecutor.

Olson later turned over her tabulator to Leaf's office, according to the Attorney General's office.

On a call with supporters in June, Leaf said he didn't "confiscate" any tabulators.

Lambert was among a group of three individuals who "orchestrated a coordinated plan to gain access to voting tabulators" from three counties, according to the petition for a special prosecutor.

Last year, Lambert was among nine lawyers who were sanctioned by a federal judge for their involvement in an unsuccessful lawsuit that attempted to overturn Michigan's presidential election, which Democrat Joe Biden won against Republican Donald Trump.

"Sanctions are required to deter the filing of future frivolous lawsuits designed primarily to spread the narrative that our election processes are rigged and our democratic institutions cannot be trusted," U.S. District Court Judge Linda Parker wrote on Aug. 25, 2021.

Lambert's new Leaf lawsuit came 282 days later.

cmauger@detroitnews.com