Whitmer and Gordon must now answer for why a taxpayer-funded hush-money agreement was needed in the first place, if Gordon will keep the taxpayer money, and explain what policies they disagreed on and why.
March 19, 2021
Whitmer Still Refusing To Reveal Details Behind Hush Money Cover Up
Governor Gretchen Whitmer declined to comment on former health director Robert Gordon’s departure just a day after waiving the nondisclosure clause of the severance agreement that included a $155,506 taxpayer-funded payment.
When questioned again on the nature of his departure during a virtual news conference Whitmer stated, “I’ve said all I am going to say about Director Gordon’s departure.”
Gordon refused to testify before a House Oversight Committee on his role, which included overseeing nursing home policy and ordering shutdowns. Instead, he sent a letter claiming “reasonable people” disagreed and “the stakes were life and death, and different people have different roles.”
Whitmer isn’t just refusing to discuss Gordon’s departure and their disagreements, she also dodged answering whether lives were lost from transferring COVID positive patients into nursing homes. Watch:
An op-ed in USA Today asks: Did Michigan cover up nursing home COVID deaths like New York?
“Gov. Whitmer made the same policy choice as Gov. Cuomo, forcing contagious senior citizens into close proximity with other medically vulnerable people. In fact, her policy, a similar version of which is still in effect today, went even farther, forcing some non-senior patients into nursing homes, including a 20-year-old. Michigan citizens deserve to know why she did this.”
Gov. Whitmer is still refusing to explain why the health director in charge of nursing home policy and shutdowns was given a $155,506 of taxpayer money to stay quiet after he departed his position. Whitmer and Gordon must now answer for why a taxpayer-funded hush-money agreement was needed in the first place, if Gordon will keep the taxpayer money, and explain what policies they disagreed on and why. – Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action