Ingham prosecutor refers request for investigation of AG Bill Schuette to FBI

Paul Egan | Detroit Free Press

LANSING – The Ingham County prosecutor has referred attorney Mike Nichols’ concerns about possible criminal wrongdoing by Attorney General Bill Schuette to the FBI, according to Nichols.

The East Lansing attorney wrote Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon on Thursday, requesting a state grand jury or other criminal investigation of allegations Schuette improperly used state resources.

On Tuesday, Siemon spokesman Scott Hughes said that Siemon referred the letter from Nichols “to an appropriate agency,” which he would not identify.

But Nichols on Tuesday circulated the text of an email he said he received Monday from Siemon that said: “After some research, it was determined that the most appropriate investigative body for this matter is the FBI and I have made that referral.

"The Special Agent with whom I spoke indicated that while they do not contact all complainants, they likely will be in touch with you.”

Tim Wiley, a spokesman for the FBI, said the agency would not confirm or deny the existence of any investigation.

Nichols circulated an email Tuesday that said Siemon's decision "is a good, prudent step," and "the FBI is an excellent choice" to handle an investigation.

"I'm pleased," said Nichols, who had not been contacted by the FBI as of Tuesday afternoon.

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Nichols, who represented former state representative Cindy Gamrat and saw the misconduct in office charges Schuette brought against Gamrat in 2016 dismissed by a district court judge in Lansing, said Schuette attempted to hold Gamrat to higher standards than those he observes.

In his letter to Siemon, a Democrat, asking for a criminal investigation, Nichols cited Schuette’s use of state employees to witness personal real estate transactions in his state-funded office and his hiring of Republican campaign operatives to taxpayer-funded civil service posts in the run-up to his current campaign for governor.

"I was the attorney for Ms. Cindy Gamrat and I experienced firsthand the selective standard that Mr. Schuette sets for those who hold public office," Nichols wrote. Now, "it appears that Mr. Schuette has violated many state laws and a formal investigation is warranted to preserve the integrity and transparency of the public office of the Attorney General."

Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for Schuette, said Thursday the letter from Nichols is "nothing but another baseless attack on an Attorney General with a strong ethical record." On Tuesday, she added: "If I had a dime for every time a criminal defense attorney attacked a prosecutor, I’d have a lot of dimes."

Bitely did not respond to an email asking what she thought about Siemon referring the complaint to the FBI. But Stu Sandler, a spokesman for a pro-Schuette Super PAC, said "this is a prosecutor's polite way of passing the buck," and "I think there's some politics at play here."

Nichols said Thursday he has been a member of the Ingham County Democratic Party but considers himself an independent voter who is "tired of the hypocrisy."

In May, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley accused Schuette of continuing to have a hands-on role in his business dealings after saying publicly he placed his assets in a blind trust. Calley's campaign released records showing Schuette's signature on multimillion-dollar real estate transactions related to family-owned property in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Schuette vigorously denied that his family real estate should have been placed in a blind trust but his officials acknowledged that staffers signed as witnesses some of the transactions while at work.

Calley is also seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

In December, the Free Press obtained records under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act that showed Schuette, in advance of his September announcement that he was running for governor, hired as civil servants four "constituent relations representatives," also known as "executive office representatives," who are all Republican activists or experienced GOP campaign operatives. The state constitution and civil service rules prohibit partisan consideration in state hiring.

The Free Press also reported that Schuette used no-bid state contracts to pay more than $130,000 to two influential Republicans — one of whom has been active in the tea party movement that is important in winning a Republican primary.

Gamrat and fellow Republican former state representative Todd Courser were charged in early 2016 amid a bizarre scandal in which Courser arranged for an email to be sent out falsely accusing him of drug use and having sex with a male prostitute. Courser has said the intent of the email was to send up a "false flag" that would help discredit rumors of an extramarital affair between Gamrat and Courser, which was real.

The charges against Gamrat related to her allegedly lying about whether she knew about the "false flag" email before it was sent and that she allegedly allowed staffers to sign her name to two bills.

In June 2016, a district judge dismissed both counts of misconduct in office against Gamrat, while also dismissing two such counts against Courser, but sending Courser to trial on one count each of perjury and misconduct. Charges against Courser are still pending.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.