Schuette appeals Michigan recount order

Attorney General Bill Schuette is appealing a federal court order that prompted Michigan to begin a recount of the presidential election.

Schuette filed a notice of appeal Tuesday afternoon after U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith earlier granted his motion to intervene in a case brought by Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

Goldsmith ordered the state to begin the recount Monday, but Schuette is appealing his ruling to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Michigan Republican Party has also appealed the order.

Schuette said Tuesday that Stein has no grounds for a recount under state law.

“In Michigan, you have to be an injured party, an aggrieved party to qualify for a recount,” Schuette said. “Jill Stein received one percent of the 4.8 million votes that were cast on Nov. 8. She’s made it very clear that there’s no evidence of fraud or misdeeds and is attempting to have a recount where she received one percent of the vote.

“There’s no chance she’s going to win. She’s trying to manipulate the process.”

The attorney general made the remarks during news conferences at his office at Cadillac Place in Detroit’s New Center area.

Schuette also has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to bypass the state Court of Appeals to hold an emergency hearing this week. An emergency hearing will be held at the Court of Appeals later Tuesday to block the recount from going forward. The hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Lansing.

Federal, state courts duel over Michigan’s recount

Lawyers for Stein say the Green Party candidate isn’t opposed to Schuette’s interest to intervene.

“It is notable, however, that the Mr. Schuette does not represent the State of Michigan in this suit,” wrote her lawyers, including Mark Brewer, former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, citing public statements by Gov. Rick Snyder and other legal action by Schuette.

On Monday, the Michigan Republican Party asked the federal appeals court to lift the order requiring Michigan to begin a recount of its presidential election, calling it a “logistical nightmare.”

Republican President-elect Donald Trump won Michigan’s Nov. 8 election, topping Democrat Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes, according to results certified last week by the Board of State Canvassers. Stein finished a distant fourth, receiving roughly 1 percent of the vote.

Trump sued Michigan on Friday in an attempt to stop the recount.

cramirez@detroitnews.com