Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

The Michigan House Oversight Committee has given unanimous approval to subpoena Attorney General Dana Nessel, according to Committee Chairman Jay DeBoyer.

Nessel’s in-person testimony before the committee is requested on Sept. 16. This is the third subpoena issued to her.

“No one in Michigan should be above the law,” DeBoyer said. “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.”

He said other departments that received requests were more responsive.

“I’d like to point out that similar requests the committee made to 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 previously issued subpoenas in July for information on two different matters. One focused on a case that she decided not to file charges in. An alleged campaign finance violation by Bipartisan Solutions and an organization that included a member of her family was referred to her by the Secretary of State’s Office.

A complaint in 2022 alleged that Bipartisan Solutions collected donations “for the sole purpose of making expenditures to Fair and Equal Michigan, a ballot question committee.” The Secretary of State’s Office referred the matter after conducting an investigation for the enforcement of penalties in April 2023, but the Attorney General’s Office hasn’t taken action.

The other focused on the committee’s request about her department’s investigation into Traci Kornak, a lawyer and former treasurer for the Michigan Democratic Party. Kornak, a friend of Nessel, served on her transition team following her election in 2018. Kornak was accused of “using the account of an elderly client to fraudulently bill an insurance company” in 2022. According to a release about the subpoena, emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act “raised questions about what role the Attorney General played during the 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 to hearing from her.”