Screengrab, YouTube
Mellissa Carone testifies before the state House in December 2020 with Rudy Giuliani.
The Republican clerk of Shelby Township has sued election conspiracy theorist Mellissa Carone for defamation, saying she falsely accused him of taking several bribes and running “illegal elections.”
The lawsuit filed Friday in Macomb County Circuit Court marks the latest clash between Michigan Republicans who are turning on themselves less than three months before the general election.
Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot alleged Carone repeatedly spread false, inflammatory information about him on social media.
Carone, a bombastic Donald Trump loyalist, was parodied on Saturday Night Live for her outlandish testimony as Rudy Giuliani’s “star” witness during a legislative election-fraud hearing.
She was running for a state House seat earlier this year before she was kicked off the ballot for making a false statement on an affidavit of identity.
Carone announced earlier this month that she’s running for lieutenant governor on the U.S. Taxpayers Party ticket. Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Donna Brandenburg is running for governor on the ticket.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed by attorney Michael Balian, Carone accused Grot of “running his elections using illegal procedures,” accepting bribes from a man sentenced to 11 years in prison, and taking money from “an illegal immigrant to turn in a lottery ticket.”
Carone also claimed Grot committed bribery when he received $200,000 from the Michigan Republican Party’s administrative account when he was running for secretary of state in 2018. The party was accused of making the payment in exchange for Grot dropping out of the race. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel decided not to file criminal charges in the case.
Grot was among a group of Republicans who posed as presidential electors and falsely declared that Trump won the 2020 election.
The lawsuit was filed one day after the Macomb County GOP held two competing county conventions as Republicans squabble over control of the party.
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