Americans expect taxpayer money to be spent responsibly, transparently, and in the public interest. It does not belong to politicians. It does not belong to unelected bureaucrats. And it certainly does not belong to politically connected insiders looking to live lavishly on the taxpayer’s dime. 

When I worked as an intelligence officer for the Department of Defense, I supported counter-narcotic operations. The funneling of taxpayer and state resources to private individuals was a behavior common in “narco-states” like Venezuela or corrupt local governments in Mexico. That is precisely why the allegations surrounding the Fay Beydoun scandal have struck such a nerve across Michigan, and nationally, but particularly with me personally. Public servants and our government are stewards of taxpayer dollars, not owners of it.