Reasonable Inference
The office of Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini engaged in pre-meditated FOIA obstruction when they reached out to the office of MI Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and ES&S representatives for guidance on how to prevent disclosure of the audit records. Macomb County subsequently denied FOIA requests for such records using the rationale provided by ES&S as the basis for their denial.
Citations
Email seeking recommendations for prevention of release of audit records https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-C-zwkhNZu-GAPP_t15PV3BDOqzKXqG6/view?usp=drive_link
Macomb County FOIA denial of audit detailed technical report https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zkCszeRFI6I2zxp80t-7MPajabcePMy7/view?usp=drive_link