Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says Michigan needs ethics reforms amid Chatfied probe
Craig Mauger
The Detroit News
December 14, 2022
Lansing — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vowed Wednesday to enact laws that would make records from within her office and the Legislature publicly available and said Michigan needs to examine loopholes in lobbying policies that potentially contributed to the actions of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield.
Chatfield, a Republican who left the House at the end of 2020, is under criminal investigation by Attorney General Dana Nessel. The Detroit News reported Tuesday that Michael Frezza, an assistant attorney general, told an Ingham County judge in November the probe involved other state officials, lobbyists and governmental appointees "at high levels."
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Lansing, Whitmer made her most specific comments to date about potential reforms that could result from the ongoing Chatfield investigation and media reporting on his behavior in Lansing. The Democratic governor said there's work that incoming lawmakers want to do on improving oversight and accountability.
"People deserve to know that their leaders are looking out for them, not themselves, that they are following the law and if the law is not tight enough, we'll change it," Whitmer said.
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