On Monday, CNN Newsroom host Kate Bolduan brought on a member of the Lincoln Project who insisted that it was “unlawful” for any member of Michigan’s canvassing board to delay certifying that state’s election results. Jeff Timmer, whom Bolduan identified as a “senior advisor” for the disgraced organization, advocated that the American Bar Association either sanction or outright revoke the legal license of any Republican who refused to certify Michigan’s election results immediately.
Bolduan never pushed back against any of Timmer’s legal hyperbole, instead giving her guest free rein to regurgitate all the familiar media-approved talking points about the contested election: “I think this is turning into a circus, and it’s complete with clowns.” Timmer continued: “…to most people clowns are funny, but to a lot of people they’re scary and I think we need to be scared about what could take place today.”
He twice claimed that it would be illegal for Michigan’s canvassing board to temporarily delay certifying their election results. “All the evidence before us says this is going to be a deadlocked vote, which is unlawful.”
“The two Republicans [on the board] are attorneys. They’re officers of the court, and if they don’t vote to certify, they’re taking an unlawful vote.”
At least one of those two Republicans, Norman Shinkle, had indicated he would vote to delay certification, causing Bolduan to inquire cynically, “What do you think his game is here?”
Timmer then did that thing that seemingly everyone at the Lincoln Project loves to do: he demanded potentially career-destroying consequences for any Republican attorney who failed to behave how he thought they ought to.
JEFF TIMMER: [Shinkle] has indicated he's not likely to vote in favor of certification. He’ll probably have to answer to the Bar Association for that.
KATE BOLDUAN: Do you think he should?
TIMMER: I think he should. He has to certify. It's his obligation. He has a sworn oath to do so.
BOLDUAN: Do you — when you say he should answer to the Bar Association, are you saying he should, like, lose his license?
TIMMER: Well, sanctions are definitely possible. The court has held canvassers in contempt before when they failed to do their duty. As a lawyer, I would be worried about that.
Say what you will about the Lincoln Project, but at least they know how to give CNN hosts what they want.
To read a transcript of Bolduan’s interview with her ostensibly conservative guest, click “expand” below:
11/23/2020CNN Newsroom, 11 am hour11:05 — 11:09 am ETKATE BOLDUAN: Joining me now is someone who knows a lot about this: Jeff Timmer, a Republican who's a former member of Michigan's state board of canvassers, now a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project. Thanks for coming on. What do you think is going to happen today?JEFF TIMMER: I think this is turning into a circus, and it’s complete with clowns. But to most people clowns are funny, but to a lot of people they're scary, and I think we need to be scared about what could take place today.BOLDUAN: Do you — it’s, it really is unknown, it depends on how people are going to vote. Do you foresee this being delayed further or do you — does your gut tell you this is going to get wrapped up and there's going to be a 3-1 or 4-0 vote in favor of certification? What do you think?TIMMER: All the evidence before us says this is going to be a deadlocked vote. Which is unlawful. The Republicans on the board, as well as the Democrats, has [sic] a legal obligation to certify, and the two Republicans are attorneys. They’re officers of the court, and if they don't vote to certify they're taking an unlawful vote.
BOLDUAN: You're not talking about just some people. You know these people. Like Norman Shinkle, he’s one of the two Republicans who’s on this canvassing board, he’s the one we've been talking about who’s been signaling that he is going to vote to delay, sort of vote against certifying the results today. You know him, you've served on that board with him. What do you think his game is here?
TIMMER: I can't even begin to answer that. This board has no investigatory power. They have no ability to look into any allegations of fraud or misconduct. That's for the criminal justice system, not this board. This board is effectively, at this point, a rubber stamp that needs to certify the results before anything else can take place.
BOLDUAN: Have you had a chance to speak with him?
TIMMER: I have not. But I know many people who has [sic], and he has indicated he's not likely to vote in favor of certification. He’ll probably have to answer to the bar association for that.
BOLDUAN: Do you think he should?
TIMMER: I think he should. He has to certify. It's his obligation. He has a sworn oath to do so.
BOLDUAN: Do you — when you say he should answer to the bar association, are you saying he should, like, lose his license?
TIMMER: Well, sanctions are definitely possible. The court has held canvassers in contempt before when they failed to do their duty. As a lawyer, I would be worried about that.
BOLDUAN: Now, look, Joe Biden won Michigan by more than 150,000 votes, yet the President and his team, they are trying to delay the reality as we can see. At least in part, part of the reason is fundraising. The President is funding his own post-White House political life, his leadership PAC, by saying that he's raising money to fund the legal challenges. He's fundraising off of these legal challenges. If that is the reason that he continues to push, in Michigan, what do you say to that, Jeff?
TIMMER: Well, it's unconscionable. There are no legal actions in Michigan, but there are people who think there are. And he is, he's fleecing his followers for more money to pay the debts from the campaign. And it really is unconscionable because what he’s doing is, he's threatening the rule of law and the faith in the elections.
We had an election in Michigan. It wasn't even close. Biden won by a margin 15 times greater than Trump won four years ago. This isn’t close, it’s over. It's been over since Wednesday, November 4th, and it's time to move on.
BOLDUAN: Look, it seems — the way you put it, it seems like it's pretty cut and dry. But the way that it's playing out is anything but cut and dry. How is this going — what kind of long-term damage do you think is going to be had on election — the electoral process in Michigan or how people view elections in your important state?
TIMMER: Well, what we're finding is that, you know, a solid majority of those who voted for Trump think the election is being stolen from them, and that's nonsense. It's going to undermine faith in democracy. People need to accept there are winners and losers in an election, and sometimes their side loses. You move on and fight the next election. That's what they should be doing now.
BOLDUAN: Yeah. Let’s see what happens in the next couple of hours. Jeff, please come back on. I’m really interested to hear your take when we do find out how this vote ends up, and then we look at what’s next.
