LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Attorney General Dana Nessel appears to be breaking from fellow Democrat and boss Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as she expresses concern over the way the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) spends taxpayer money.
Nessel appeared on WDIV’s “Flashpoint” program this week and expressed her concerns over the MEDC’s spending of taxpayer-funded grants.
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“We want to make sure state tax dollars are used wisely and normally they are,” Nessel said on the program. “This investigation actually was launched because of reports in the media about how this grant money was being utilized.”
The grant money and investigation Nessel references is the more than $15 million Whitmer pushed the Legislature to earmark for the MEDC in 2022. Whitmer billed the grant program as an incentive to attract international businesses to Michigan. However, Whitmer campaign donor Fay Beydoun received that money for her nonprofit, Global Link International.
Neseel was quick to say in the interview that Whitmer “is not a target of this investigation,” but the paper trail tells another story. Documents show the MEDC paved the way for Beydoun to receive the grant. In addition, Beydoun served on MEDC’s executive committee.
Beydoun, whose home was raided by Nessel’s investigators earlier this summer, used the grant money for a $4,500 coffeemaker, an $11,000 first class ticket to Budapest, and to give herself a yearly salary of $550,000. Nessel’s investigators also served a warrant on the MEDC offices in Lansing.
Flashpoint host Jason Colthrop asked Nessel about her relationship with Gov. Whitmer. “Are you two at odds on this?” Nessel responded, “I wouldn’t say that. This is my job.”
Nessel repeated her concerns about MEDC. “This is a quasi-public quasi-private agency that operates outside the rules of normal state government,” Nessel said. “Perhaps they shouldn’t be receiving any state funds at all.”
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That statement may be too little, too late. Whitmer has already promoted hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds to incentivize Chinese companies to set up shop in Michigan. Those include Gotion in Big Rapids and CATL in Marshall. In addition, Whitmer recently saw a third company pull out of a Genesee County megasite project which has already seen homes razed to make room for the yet-to-be-determined project.
