St. Clair Today

The Michigan House Oversight Committee has voted unanimously to subpoena Attorney General Dana Nessel, seeking her in-person testimony before the committee on September 16. Committee Chairman Jay DeBoyer stated that the move is aimed at providing transparency and answers for people across Michigan.

“No one in Michigan should be above the law,” said DeBoyer, of Clay Township. “The Attorney General has thumbed her nose at the House Oversight Committee’s responsibilities to the people and its subpoena power. Her office previously responded to our committee’s request for documents by saying that she’d provide them on her own timeline with no firm, certain date for when they’d be coming."

DeBoyer compared Nessel’s response to those from other state departments, noting that both the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have been more cooperative. He said, “I’d like to point out that similar requests the committee made of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Natural Resources have not encountered these roadblocks. The DNR has been cooperative. They have communicated with us regarding these requests and we have an acceptable timeline to receive documents. The DHHS Director agreed to come in and testify. Attorney General Nessel is trying to play hardball by stonewalling our lawfully issued subpoenas, and she is shirking her responsibility as an elected official by doing so. What’s there to hide?”

The committee first issued subpoenas to Nessel in July related to two separate matters. One concerns her decision not to file charges in a case referred by the Secretary of State’s office involving alleged campaign finance violations connected to Bipartisan Solutions, which included a member of Nessel's family.

A complaint filed in 2022 alleged Bipartisan Solutions collected donations solely for making expenditures to Fair and Equal Michigan, a ballot question committee. The Secretary of State investigated this issue and referred it for possible enforcement action in April 2023, but according to DeBoyer, no action has yet been taken by the Attorney General's office.

The second matter involves documents related to an investigation into Traci Kornak—a lawyer who served as treasurer for the Michigan Democratic Party and was part of Nessel's transition team after her 2018 election win. In 2022, Kornak was accused of using an elderly client’s account for fraudulent insurance billing; emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests have raised questions about what role Nessel may have played during this investigation.

“These two troubling situations raise many conflict of interest questions that people would like answers on,” DeBoyer said. “Our role as a legislative committee is to ensure state government, its various departments and elected officials are operating with integrity and not abusing the public’s trust. Speaking with the Attorney General on these issues will deliver that essential layer of accountability, and we look forward from hearing from her.”