By Simon D. Schuster
Bridge Michigan
This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.
LANSING — Republican lawyer Matthew DePerno is seeking to delay a professional misconduct hearing that could cost him his law license as he gears up to run again for Michigan attorney general, calling the long-running case “a vindictive and selective prosecution with political motives.”
DePerno faces three counts of professional misconduct dating back to his time as an attorney for former state Rep. Todd Courser, who resigned in 2015 after attempting to cover up an extramarital affair.
In a Monday filing with the Attorney Discipline Board, DePerno argued he does not have time to prepare for the September hearing as he defends himself against separate criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in a tabulator tampering scheme in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.
The 2022 GOP nominee for state attorney general also asserted he could only find one lawyer who has agreed to represent him in the matter after parting ways with his lawyer last fall. He alleged several other attorneys have since told him the case is “too political” to take on.
“One attorney called me a ‘Trumplick puke,'” DePerno wrote in the filing. “Other attorneys have cussed and berated me and acted unprofessional, rejecting my efforts to obtain legal representation.”
The Attorney Discipline Board is “now trying to force me to a hearing on September 22 and force me to do it without an attorney,” DePerno told Bridge Michigan in an interview.
In an affidavit also filed Monday, attorney Robert Edick said he is willing to represent DePerno but may not be allowed to because he served as deputy administrator of the Attorney Grievance Commission when the initial request for investigation was filed against DePerno, presenting a potential conflict of interest.
Edick retired from the commission at the end of 2020 — years before the commission filed a formal complaint against DePerno in June 2023.
Edick is already representing DePerno in a separate discipline hearing reportedly stemming from his work representing an Ann Arbor fire inspector who was fired for refusing to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine.
“I did not participate personally and substantially” in the Courser-related complaint, so “I do not believe a conflict exists,” Edick wrote in the affidavit, saying he will represent DePerno “provided I have adequate time to prepare.”
A misconduct hearing had been set for Sept. 22, but DePerno’s emergency motion filed Monday seeks to “adjourn all dates” in the case and reschedule the hearing for a later date.
“I believe this case is a vindictive and selective prosecution with political motives,” DePerno wrote.
If the Attorney Discipline Board finds merit in the complaint, DePerno could have his Michigan law license suspended or be disbarred — which could undermine his latest bid for attorney general.
DePerno filed paperwork to run for the post on Aug. 13, joining Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd and defense attorney Kevin Kijewski in the GOP race for attorney general. The Michigan Republican Party will decide its 2026 nominee at a convention next year.
DePerno lost to Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel in 2022 and the following year lost a bid to chair the Michigan Republican Party despite endorsements by former President Donald Trump.
He filed to run for the Michigan Supreme Court in 2024 but withdrew on the eve of the GOP’s nominating convention.
DePerno is currently battling felony charges for his alleged role in a scheme to tamper with voting machines after the 2020 election in a failed attempt to prove they were rigged against Trump. He’s pleaded not guilty.
DePerno is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination in that case on Oct. 10. He’s also been called to testify in a November trial for co-defendant Stefanie Lambert, he said in Monday’s filing to the Attorney Discipline Board.
“It is simply impossible to take away time in August and September to prepare for and attend this misconduct hearing 2-1/2 weeks before the preliminary hearing,” he wrote.
Despite being absorbed with preparations for the criminal trials — DePerno told Bridge he has more than 20 witnesses for his preliminary examination — he also said he’s working on additional motions to file with the discipline board, including a motion “to dismiss for vindictive prosecution.”
If and when the misconduct hearing proceeds, the Attorney Grievance Commission is expected to present 50 exhibits — mostly court documents — to an Attorney Discipline Board panel while calling DePerno and recently retired Washtenaw County Judge Timothy Connors to testify.
Connors in 2021 ordered Courser and DePerno to jointly pay $79,701.63 in sanctions after dismissing a lawsuit they brought against The Detroit News over its original reporting on the sex scandal that led Courser to resign from the state House in 2015 shortly before state Rep. Cindy Gamrat was expelled.
The pair were accused of misusing taxpayer resources to try to cover up their extramarital affair.
If DePerno pursues a campaign for attorney general again he will be facing Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd and Birmingham attorney Kevin Kijewski.
Attorney general nominees will be selected by the delegates of each major party in a closed process next August. DePerno believes the allegations he’s battling could be a political boon.
“As the poster child for (government) weaponization, it very well may help me,” he said.
Bridge Michigan
This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.
LANSING — Republican lawyer Matthew DePerno is seeking to delay a professional misconduct hearing that could cost him his law license as he gears up to run again for Michigan attorney general, calling the long-running case “a vindictive and selective prosecution with political motives.”
DePerno faces three counts of professional misconduct dating back to his time as an attorney for former state Rep. Todd Courser, who resigned in 2015 after attempting to cover up an extramarital affair.
In a Monday filing with the Attorney Discipline Board, DePerno argued he does not have time to prepare for the September hearing as he defends himself against separate criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in a tabulator tampering scheme in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.
The 2022 GOP nominee for state attorney general also asserted he could only find one lawyer who has agreed to represent him in the matter after parting ways with his lawyer last fall. He alleged several other attorneys have since told him the case is “too political” to take on.
“One attorney called me a ‘Trumplick puke,'” DePerno wrote in the filing. “Other attorneys have cussed and berated me and acted unprofessional, rejecting my efforts to obtain legal representation.”
The Attorney Discipline Board is “now trying to force me to a hearing on September 22 and force me to do it without an attorney,” DePerno told Bridge Michigan in an interview.
In an affidavit also filed Monday, attorney Robert Edick said he is willing to represent DePerno but may not be allowed to because he served as deputy administrator of the Attorney Grievance Commission when the initial request for investigation was filed against DePerno, presenting a potential conflict of interest.
Edick retired from the commission at the end of 2020 — years before the commission filed a formal complaint against DePerno in June 2023.
Edick is already representing DePerno in a separate discipline hearing reportedly stemming from his work representing an Ann Arbor fire inspector who was fired for refusing to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine.
“I did not participate personally and substantially” in the Courser-related complaint, so “I do not believe a conflict exists,” Edick wrote in the affidavit, saying he will represent DePerno “provided I have adequate time to prepare.”
A misconduct hearing had been set for Sept. 22, but DePerno’s emergency motion filed Monday seeks to “adjourn all dates” in the case and reschedule the hearing for a later date.
“I believe this case is a vindictive and selective prosecution with political motives,” DePerno wrote.
If the Attorney Discipline Board finds merit in the complaint, DePerno could have his Michigan law license suspended or be disbarred — which could undermine his latest bid for attorney general.
DePerno filed paperwork to run for the post on Aug. 13, joining Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd and defense attorney Kevin Kijewski in the GOP race for attorney general. The Michigan Republican Party will decide its 2026 nominee at a convention next year.
DePerno lost to Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel in 2022 and the following year lost a bid to chair the Michigan Republican Party despite endorsements by former President Donald Trump.
He filed to run for the Michigan Supreme Court in 2024 but withdrew on the eve of the GOP’s nominating convention.
DePerno is currently battling felony charges for his alleged role in a scheme to tamper with voting machines after the 2020 election in a failed attempt to prove they were rigged against Trump. He’s pleaded not guilty.
DePerno is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination in that case on Oct. 10. He’s also been called to testify in a November trial for co-defendant Stefanie Lambert, he said in Monday’s filing to the Attorney Discipline Board.
“It is simply impossible to take away time in August and September to prepare for and attend this misconduct hearing 2-1/2 weeks before the preliminary hearing,” he wrote.
Despite being absorbed with preparations for the criminal trials — DePerno told Bridge he has more than 20 witnesses for his preliminary examination — he also said he’s working on additional motions to file with the discipline board, including a motion “to dismiss for vindictive prosecution.”
If and when the misconduct hearing proceeds, the Attorney Grievance Commission is expected to present 50 exhibits — mostly court documents — to an Attorney Discipline Board panel while calling DePerno and recently retired Washtenaw County Judge Timothy Connors to testify.
Connors in 2021 ordered Courser and DePerno to jointly pay $79,701.63 in sanctions after dismissing a lawsuit they brought against The Detroit News over its original reporting on the sex scandal that led Courser to resign from the state House in 2015 shortly before state Rep. Cindy Gamrat was expelled.
The pair were accused of misusing taxpayer resources to try to cover up their extramarital affair.
If DePerno pursues a campaign for attorney general again he will be facing Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd and Birmingham attorney Kevin Kijewski.
Attorney general nominees will be selected by the delegates of each major party in a closed process next August. DePerno believes the allegations he’s battling could be a political boon.
“As the poster child for (government) weaponization, it very well may help me,” he said.
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