The Michigan GOP filed a complaint with the state’s Bureau of Elections over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s private plane use.
The state’s Republican Party alleged in a Friday filing obtained by the Daily Caller that Whitmer’s trip to visit her ailing father in Florida, which was at least partly funded by a nonprofit group, amounted to “numerous violations of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act.”
“There is no individual or organization who should have paid for the Governor’s luxury personal travel to Florida except for Governor Whitmer herself,” the filing said. “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.”
GRETCHEN WHITMER’S PRIVATE FLIGHTS DRAW ATTENTION OF MICHIGAN LEGISLATURE AND FAA
The complaint alleged Michigan Transition, a nonprofit group established to facilitate Whitmer’s inauguration in 2019, paid the $27,521 cost of the flight. Then, after the matter became public despite Whitmer going to “great lengths” to keep the plane use secret, the filing said the governor offered personally to reimburse $855, which covered the equivalent costs of first-class flight seats for herself and her daughters.
“However, when it became clear that FAA rules did not allow the operator to accept any flight reimbursements from 501(c)(4) organizations, Whitmer’s attorney then shifted positions to state that the Campaign would be covering the charter cost of the flight. … So far, Governor Whitmer has only claimed to have paid $855 for her seat on the private jet and not explained what she thinks the reimbursement amount for her daughters’ seats on the luxury jet would be,” the filing continued.
The state GOP claimed Whitmer justified Michigan Transition’s financing of the trip as an “incidental office expense,” a characterization that the complainants rejected.
“There is no dispute that Governor Whitmer’s trip to Florida was a personal trip to visit her father. Nonetheless, the Campaign attempts to argue that it can pay for the trip by claiming that the trip was an ‘incidental office expense’ under [Michigan Compiled Law] 169.209,” the filing continued. “This argument defies logic, as MCL 169.209 and interpretive guidance on ‘incidental office expenses’ make clear that any expenditures for personal activities are not considered ‘incidental office expenses,’ regardless of the circumstances.”
Whitmer’s flights to and from Florida have attracted scrutiny from state Republican officials in recent weeks, with Rep. Steve Johnson, the chairman of the Michigan House Oversight Committee, saying last month that there may even need to be an inquiry into the financial arrangements behind Whitmer’s visit to her father if her administration is not sufficiently responsive to the committee’s letter, which Johnson sent to the governor in late May.
“We will be issuing a letter to Governor Whitmer with specific questions related to her junket to Florida. Based off the response we receive, the Oversight Committee will consider doing hearings on this scandal,” Johnson wrote in an email to the Washington Examiner on May 18. “The people of Michigan deserve answers on what the Governor is trying to hide and why.”
After Whitmer’s chief of staff, JoAnne Huls, said the administration used “a chartered flight for this trip,” a Federal Aviation Administration representative said Detroit-based Air Eagle, the company whose plane carried Whitmer to Florida and back, doesn’t hold a certificate authorizing charter-type services.
It’s premature “to conclude that a violation of federal aviation regulations occurred,” a statement from the FAA reportedly said. “The FAA is looking into the matter.”
Representatives for Whitmer, a Democrat, defended the arrangement. Bob Leddy, a spokesman for the governor, said Whitmer needed secure transportation and that Air Eagle was able to provide it, and the trip costs were covered.
“Due to ongoing security and public health concerns, we made a decision to use a chartered flight for this trip,” Huls wrote in a memo explaining the March trip funded by Michigan Transition. “The governor’s flight was not a gift, not paid for at taxpayer expense and was done in compliance with the law.”
Huls said in her memo that the health of Whitmer’s father, Richard, began to deteriorate after she returned to Michigan on March 15. The chief of staff added that on Monday, the governor took her father to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a medical procedure to begin intravenous antibiotics and that it was a success.
Whitmer also faced controversy after it was reported that multiple aides to the governor, including Elizabeth Hertel, the director of Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services, and Tricia Foster, the governor’s chief operating officer, traveled out of state last month despite April 5 guidelines issued by Hertel warning would-be travelers that “travel increases your chance of spreading and getting COVID-19.”
“We recommend that you do not travel at this time,” said the Michigan HHS travel advisory, which was in effect during both trips. “Delay travel and stay home to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.”
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A representative for Whitmer did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
