Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) was hit with even more bad news this week as her state’s Republican Party filed a formal complaint against her for her infamous trip to Florida. The Republicans also demanded that the Michigan secretary of state pursue legal action against her.
The complaint, which was obtained by Fox News, was filed on Friday by Michigan’s GOP. It claims there were “numerous violations of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act” by Whitmer stemming from her “four-day luxury trip” to visit her father in south Florida.
After the complaint was filed, Michigan Republican Party executive director Jason Cabel Roe said that Whitmer’s actions “surrounding this secret, luxury travel to Florida is just another example of her hypocrisy and incompetent leadership throughout the pandemic.”
“Regardless of the governor’s purported safety concerns with traveling commercially, she isn’t above the law, and must be held accountable,” he added.
Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite fired back by defending Whitmer.
“Governor Whitmer has been recognized for her leadership during the pandemic and Republicans know it. It’s why they’ve already spent half a million dollars and a lot of time and effort to attack her,” she said.
“These are just more partisan and bogus complaints in the MI GOP’s never-ending obstruction of Governor Whitmer’s successful handling of the pandemic, while they’ve simultaneously been doing everything in their personal, professional, and legislative capacities to set Michigan backwards, prolong the pandemic, and make it harder for our economy to recover,” Applewhaite added.
The complaint against Whitmer claims that she “used a private Gulfstream jet” provided by Michigan chemical company PVS Chemicals, pointing out that current position by the governor’s team is “that the luxury jet costs will either be paid for by the corporation” or her campaign.
“Regardless of which entity pays for the trip, a clear violation of the [Michigan Campaign Finance Act] has occurred that should immediately be investigated and penalized to deter future continued illegal activity by Respondents,” the complaint added.
The complaint then laid out how Whitmer’s office contacted PVS Chemicals about the flight and her “four day” trip, where she “did not inform Florida Department of Law Enforcement” or Palm Beach County authorities of her trip, which the complaint says Whitmer “admitted” was a personal trip through a lawyer.
“There is no dispute that Governor Whitmer’s trip to Florida was personal and not related to any official business or campaign activity,” the complaint read. “Governor Whitmer, through counsel, has admitted that the trip to Florida was for the purpose of ‘visit[ing] her father.’”
The Michigan GOP does not think taxpayers should be made to foot the bill for this trip.
“There is no other individual or organization who should have paid for the Governor’s luxury personal travel to Florida except for Governor Whitmer herself,” the document reads. “This is abundantly clear in light of the numerous complaints being filed against her and the organizations associated with this trip with various state and federal agencies.”
“We ask that the Secretary of State immediately investigate this conduct and penalize all responsible parties to the fullest extent of the law,” the complaint concluded.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.