Michigan’s Democrat Attorney General Employs Blatant Double Standard To Refuse Investigation Into Whitmer
Michigan Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel refused requests from Republican state lawmakers Monday to launch an investigation into Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In February, State Sen. Jim Runestad spearheaded a letter signed by seven others calling on Nessel to launch a probe into Whitmer’s
April 15 executive order mandating long-term care facilities admit COVID-infected patients, in a similar directive to that handed down by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Whitmer’s order was renewed throughout the summer until it was finally
rescinded in September.
“Attorney General Nessel knows the right thing to do – and that is to get answers for every family who lost a loved one to COVID-19 in a nursing home,” Runestad said in a Monday
statement, as the true toll of Whitmer’s order remains unknown. The governor’s Department of Health and Human Services is undergoing
active litigation to keep data private that could reveal the true effects of Whitmer’s order on nursing homes.
Hours after Runestad’s statement, Nessel sent a letter to the state senator denying Republicans’ request for what she decried as a “political” investigation.
“Though I will not hesitate to act when justified, I also will not abuse the investigatory powers of this Department to launch a political attack,” Nessel wrote. “No investigation is warranted at this time.”
Nessel argued no investigation was needed, despite the governor’s office withholding data that could reveal the severity of her own orders, in part based upon a report from the University of Michigan that concluded the state’s strategy to protect nursing homes “performed well.”
The report conducted by the University of Michigan’s Center for Health and Research Transformation, however, according to Detroit News Reporter Craig Mauger, was funded by the Health Endowment Fund, which has a board appointed by the governor........
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