December 21, 2021
Benson Lets Whitmer Gets Away with Blatant Campaign Finance Violation
Lansing, Mich., December 21, 2021 – Jocelyn Benson let Gretchen Whitmer off the hook today by ignoring her blatant campaign finance violation surrounding her secret trip to Florida. In May, Michigan Rising Action filed a complaint with the IRS alleging nonprofit 501(c)(4) funds were misused to pay for Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s unauthorized private charter flight to Florida. While Whitmer and Benson cite security concerns, the complaint filed by Michigan Rising Action shows that the governor is only using this as an excuse for political and legal cover.
“Upon information and belief, Respondent Whitmer did not inform Florida Department of Law Enforcement and/or the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office of her four-day Florida Excursion, which would have been standard protocol if there were any sort of security concerns with her travel.”
Governor Whitmer’s actions reveal no legitimate safety concern, yet the Governor certainly welcomed the idea after the press discovered her secretive trip. Furthermore, she made a “fatal admission” when she reimbursed $1,710 to her campaign committee. As Whitmer and her team inferred, the trip was an incidental expense, and there should be no reason to reimburse. This transaction is a tacit admission of guilt ignored by her friend and political ally Jocelyn Benson, whose response to Michigan Rising Action’s complaint read less like the result of an investigation and more like a get-out-of-jail-free card.
“Secretary of State Benson’s ruling confirms that ‘rules for thee, not for me’ is not just a political quip, but ingrained in Michigan Democrats’ operating procedures,” said Eric Ventimiglia, Executive Director for Michigan Rising Action. Ventimiglia continued, “This decision will be a defining moment of their failed tenure, which will go down in history as one of the most corrupt administrations in the history of our state.”