Lansing — A Democratic state lawmaker was removed from her House committee assignments Wednesday for what Republican leadership maintained was disrespectful behavior on the committee, but what the lawmaker believed to be retaliation.
State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou, D-East Lansing, said she was informed Wednesday afternoon of her removal from the House Oversight Committee and one of its subcommittees. The removal came a day after Tsernoglou held a press conference to renew calls for a House Oversight probe of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to the Interlochen Center for the Arts in northern Michigan.
“Speaker Hall’s decision to remove me from all my committees is truly shocking,” Tsernoglou said in a statement Wednesday. “The Speaker of the House has decided to retaliate against me for daring to publicly ask him to investigate Jeffrey Epstein.”
State Rep. Jay DeBoyer, a Clay Township Republican and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Tsernoglou’s removal was tied to disrespectful behavior during committee meetings, citing a recent clash between Tsernoglou and state Rep. Jason Woolford, a Howell Republican who chairs an oversight subcommittee on state and local public assistance.
“Clearly, a display of complete unprofessional behavior in committee, disrespect for the chair, I mean, blatant disrespect for the chair,” DeBoyer said. “This has been an ongoing pattern.
“And so a decision was made,” he added. “If she’s not going to come with intent to do what the purpose of oversight is, and it’s really going to be political gotcha stuff, it doesn’t serve a purpose for the people of the state of Michigan.”
Tsernoglou noted while speaking with reporters Wednesday that she wasn’t the only woman to run afoul of House leadership. Hall previously removed all bills from committees led by two Republican members who missed legislative session work days in the House: state Rep. Pauline Wendzel, R-Watervliet, and state Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond.
Separately, state Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, was removed from the House Appropriations Committee after clashing with GOP leadership.
“Speaker Hall has a record of silencing the voices of strong women as well as anyone else who speaks out against him and his policies,” Tsernoglou said.
During the Thursday hearing cited by DeBoyer, according to a recording, Tsernoglou and Woolford clashed while receiving testimony from Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Jason Palmer. Woolford apologized to Palmer for the “disruption” and “unprofessionalism.” Tsernoglou accused him of being rude and said, “I think we’ve had enough of this from you.”
On Tuesday, Tsernoglou held a press conference reiterating her call for an investigation into Epstein’s ties to Interlochen, a fine arts boarding school and summer camp in Grand Traverse County.
Tsernoglou and other Democratic members have cited a trove of documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice and allegations that Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, used Interlochen to “prey on girls.” Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from claims of sexual abuse involving girls as young as 14.
In December, the Department of Justice’s release of thousands of files related to a years-long investigation of Epstein included a lawsuit that claimed he met his first known underage sexual abuse victim at Interlochen in the 1990s.
In a letter sent last week to Tsernoglou, DeBoyer said allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse or institutional wrongdoing are more of a matter for law enforcement. He also noted that, in the spring of 2024, Interlochen hired an outside Massachusetts law firm, Sanghavi Law Office, to investigate any allegations of misconduct related to Epstein’s ties to the music school.
“Given the sensitive nature of the allegations and the possibility that criminal or civil proceedings could arise from the findings of that investigation, it is important that the Legislature avoid actions that could unintentionally interfere with or complicate that process,” DeBoyer said in the May 14 letter.
In a statement Tuesday, Interlochen Center for the Arts said the Sanghavi review remains ongoing and that the fine arts school encourages anyone impacted by Epstein to speak with those investigators.
“Interlochen will respond to any additional inquiries from elected officials or oversight bodies as appropriate,” said Maureen Oleson, a spokeswoman for the school. “The safety and well-being of our students will always be our highest priority.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
Staff Writer Craig Mauger contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan lawmaker ousted from committee after clash, Epstein probe demand
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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