Lansing — The chairman of the Michigan Republican Party said Tuesday that politicians who received campaign contributions from a businesswoman who’s been criminally charged with misusing a grant should return the donations they got to the state.
Jim Runestad made the call to action during a press conference outside the Michigan Capitol, six days after Attorney General Dana Nessel announced her office was bringing 16 felony counts against Fay Beydoun.
“All of these officeholders here in the state of Michigan who took this corrupt, dirty money should be giving it back,” Runestad said.
Runestad said he wants to see the campaign contributions from Beydoun be given to the state treasury.
Beydoun, a Democratic donor and political figure, is accused of using a $20 million grant that was provided by lawmakers in 2022 to fund a business accelerator for personal and other improper expenses, like a $4,500 coffeemaker, an $11,000 first-class plane ticket to Budapest and handmade Tunisian rugs.
Nessel, a Democrat, has alleged Beydoun used her political connections in the Legislature and executive branch to secure a so-called “glass slipper grant” to enrich herself.
Beydoun declined to comment last week when approached by a Detroit News reporter at her Farmington Hills home.
At the time the grant was allocated to Beydoun’s Global Link International, Republicans controlled the Legislature and Democrat Gretchen Whitmer held the governor’s office.
Beginning in 2021, Beydoun worked to convince members of Whitmer’s administration to support or business accelerator plan, according to records obtained by The Detroit News and the Attorney General’s Office.
Since January 2021, Beydoun has given about $49,000 to Democratic officeholders, committees connected to them or the Michigan Democratic Party, according to disclosures.
The tally included $7,750 to accounts tied to Whitmer. A spokeswoman for the governor didn’t directly answer a question about whether Whitmer would turn over Beydoun’s contributions. Instead, Whitmer’s press secretary, Stacey LaRouche, said misuse of taxpayer dollars has no place in Lansing.
Derrick Honeyman, spokesman for the Michigan Democratic Party, said it was then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, who sponsored the grant for Beydoun’s group in the Legislature.
“Over the years, Michigan Republicans have been at the center of several criminal investigations for stealing taxpayer money,” Honeyman said.
He referenced charges against former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, and a former aide to Wentworth, both of whom are accused of using taxpayer money for personal gain.
Among Michigan Democrats whom Beydoun contributed to were U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, who received $8,100; U.S. Rep. and Senate candidate Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, who received $4,500; and Nessel, who received $500, according to disclosures.
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, and U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, each got $1,000 from Beydoun, and U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, got $3,500, campaign finance records show.
Scholten has donated the $1,000 she received from Beydoun to charity, Fox News reported last week.
During the press conference Tuesday, Runestad and a group of Republican lawmakers spoke while standing under a banner that said, “DEMOCRATS: RETURN THE DIRTY MONEY!”
Rep. Joshua Schriver, R-Oxford, called on Democrats to “write the check back to taxpayers.”
“Every Democrat on this list needs to return every dollar they received from Beydoun and her network,” Schriver said.
“The people are watching,” Schriver added. “Return the money. Own the failure. Or explain to voters why their hard-earned tax dollars funded all of this nonsense.”
cmauger@detroitnews.com
Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Fay Beydoun contributions should go to state gov’t, GOP chair says
Reporting by Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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