Lansing — The Attorney General’s Office has an “active and ongoing” review of a complaint that contended a business-backed nonprofit organization that’s been helping fund Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s overseas trade missions should have registered as a lobbyist, a spokesman said.
Danny Wimmer, press secretary for Attorney General Dana Nessel, acknowledged the ongoing scrutiny of the complaint against the Michigan Economic Development Foundation (MEDF) in a Friday text message.
In October, a Detroit News investigation revealed that companies that contributed to the MEDF got seats on the organization’s board and access to Whitmer and Quentin Messer Jr., a member of Whitmer’s cabinet and CEO of the state’s economic development agency, at private functions and policy events.
The reporting led to a formal complaint that the MEDF had violated state lobbying policies by not registering as a lobbyist. The November filing came from Bob LaBrant, a longtime Michigan lawyer and campaign finance expert.
“After reviewing your complaint, the department has decided to look into the matter further,” Christopher Kessel, an assistant attorney general, informed LaBrant on April 27.
That would be the second matter being reviewed by the Attorney General’s office involving Michigan’s economic development activities. On Tuesday, Nessel’s office announced 16 charges against Metro Detroit businesswoman Fay Beydoun over how she spent and documented expenses related to a $20 million state taxpayer-funded grant.
The state’s economic development arm, the Michigan Economic Development Corp., handled the receipts Beydoun had to submit to the state. Nessel said MEDC CEO Messer is a potential target of that ongoing investigation.
The MEDF, which was created decades ago as a charitable nonprofit organization, has paid for some of the costs associated with foreign trade missions organized by the MEDC, including Whitmer’s ventures last year to the United Arab Emirates and Japan.
Eric Doster, a foundation lawyer, and Rebecca Bahar-Cook, a fundraiser and executive director for the MEDF, didn’t respond to a Friday email seeking comment.
In 2024, the MEDF told the Internal Revenue Service it spent $453,860 on “investment missions.” Whitmer went on a trip to Spain and another one to Taiwan and South Korea in 2024. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II traveled to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany the same year. All of those ventures were listed in the MEDF’s annual report of its activities for 2024.
LaBrant has argued the group’s activities amounted to lobbying. Michigan’s lobbying law defines lobbying as “direct communication with a public official for the purpose of influencing administrative action.”
“MEDF historically has paid for the meals and beverages of Michigan public officials at economic development meetings, briefings and trips,” LaBrant wrote. “That funding has been allowed to fly under the radar.”
In emails previously obtained by The News, Messer invited people to foundation-sponsored private events with the state’s economic development decision-makers, including members of the Michigan Strategic Fund, the board that votes on incentive packages for companies.
One such event occurred on Sept. 25, 2024, at a Hilton hotel in Lansing.
“We hope you will join us, as collectively we determine the best course for Team Michigan for how we can navigate the current economic landscape and leverage opportunities to help us better invest in our people, revitalize our places and win projects to grow our population in our quest to become #1 in every ranking,” Messer wrote in his email invitation to dozens of individuals.
Under Michigan law, organizations or businesses have to register as lobbyists when they spend $3,200 on lobbying during a 12-month period. The question at the center of LaBrant’s complaint would be whether the MEDF’s spending qualified as lobbying.
LaBrant has referenced the fact that 21 of the 22 companies or organizations listed as MEDF “board level partners,” meaning they contributed at least $25,000 to MEDF, are registered lobbyists themselves or closely connected to registered lobbyists.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Nessel reviewing Michigan Economic Development Foundation complaint
Reporting by Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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