Sen. Peter Lucido changes story on sexist remark, now says he was misquoted

LANSING — A state senator under fire for making sexist remarks to a state Capitol reporter has changed his story and now says he was misquoted.

The Senate launched a sexual harassment investigation into Sen. Peter Lucido's conduct Wednesday after the Michigan Advance reported on a Tuesday exchange between him and reporter Allison Donahue, outside the Senate chamber. The incident quickly drew national media attention.

Donahue tried to question Lucido, R-Shelby Township, while he was surrounded by a group of male high school students from his alma mater, De La Salle Collegiate, a Catholic high school in Warren.

"You’ve heard of De La Salle, right?” the Michigan Advance quoted Lucido as asking Donahue, who is 22.

When Donahue said she had not, Lucido said: “It’s an all-boys school,” adding: “You should hang around — you could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you.”

The students then burst into laughter, the online publication reported.

Lucido was asked twice during a Wednesday morning telephone interview by the Free Press whether he had been misquoted. He twice said he was not denying the quotes attributed to him, but he felt they were being taken out of context and out of proportion.

He also did not claim to have been misquoted when he issued what he called an apology for a misunderstanding later on Wednesday morning.

“I apologize for the misunderstanding yesterday (Tuesday) and for offending Allison Donahue," Lucido said in the statement, issued midmorning through the Senate GOP and Lucido's Twitter account.

Lucido, who is majority caucus whip, also did not say he was misquoted on Tuesday when Donahue told him she found his remarks unprofessional and questioned what he was insinuating by "saying that I would have fun with" the high school students, based on a recording of that exchange.

But late Wednesday, after Senate leaders announced an investigation into his conduct, Lucido told both WDIV-TV (Channel 4) and the Washington Post that the quotes attributed to him by the Michigan Advance were not accurate. He also said he was misquoted during a Thursday morning radio interview with host Paul W. Smith on WJR-AM.

"I said, 'We're going on the (Senate) floor to have some fun; you're welcome to join us,'" Lucido told Channel 4.

Lucido told WJR he was about to take the students onto the Senate floor to learn about government when Donahue requested the interview and told her she could either come along with them or wait about 30 minutes outside the Senate chamber.

"I want to bring them on the floor; you're welcome to come and join us," Lucido said he told Donahue. "You're welcome to have some fun with us."

More on this story:

Michigan senator to female reporter: High school boys could 'have a lot of fun' with you

Opinion: Mich. senator's remark to reporter was about sex, power, not harmless small talk

Lucido, who dodged Capitol reporters Wednesday and Thursday, did not immediately respond to a Thursday text message from the Free Press asking why he later told some media outlets he had been misquoted after telling the Free Press that he had not been misquoted. His cellphone mailbox was full Thursday and not accepting messages.

"We stand completely by our story," said Susan Demas, editor-in-chief of Michigan Advance.

Lucido's changing story "shows that he is of low moral character," and "is lying," Demas said.

The initial exchange between Donahue and Lucido, when he made the comments about having fun, took place when Donahue was trying to get Lucido's attention and was not recorded, Demas said. But it was immediately reported to both Demas and a colleague, she said. The exchange following that, in which Donahue challenges Lucido about his comments, was recorded and is posted on the Michigan Advance website.

De La Salle posted a statement about the incident on its Twitter account Wednesday.

"Sen. Lucido’s comments do not represent De La Salle nor the values and conduct we instill in our young men," the statement said. "We are very sorry the reporter was put in this position and we have met with the boys who were on the tour to discuss the improper nature of this situation."

Bill Roose, a spokesman for De La Salle, said about 20 boys were on the Capitol tour and about half were present when the exchange took place.

It appeared that some of them "heard pretty much what she reported," Roose said. But school officials did not press the boys for precise details about what Lucido said because at the time school officials met with the boys Wednesday, Lucido was not disputing that he made the remarks, as reported.

"I believe her," said Roose. He said that he called Donahue on Wednesday to apologize on behalf of the school, "if the boys' laughter offended her."

But Roose backtracked somewhat after he was told that Lucido is now saying he was misquoted. The school does not want to get into the middle of the disagreement, he said.

None of the three adults from the school who were on the tour heard the exchange, though one was aware Donahue was upset, he said.

"If he said what she reported, then that's inappropriate," Roose said.

"We tried to turn it into a teaching moment," and instructed the boys to speak up and object in the future when they hear comments that are inappropriate, he said.

Asked if any of the boys protested during the counseling session and said they did not feel Lucido had said something inappropriate, Roose said they did not.

The boys said some of the laughter started when Lucido asked whether Donahue had heard of De La Salle and Donahue said no, because in their world everyone has heard of the high school, he said.

Also Thursday, Michigan Senate spokeswoman Amber McCann said the report of the Senate Business Office investigation into whether Lucido violated Senate rules against sexual harassment may never be made public. Only the determination as to whether Lucido violated rules will definitely be disclosed, she said.

The Legislature is not subject to Michigan's Freedom of Information Act.

“The Business Office is only subjected to the release of financial documents," McCann said. "So they will maintain that policy. That’s all they have to release. It’s not a precedent in the Senate to release personnel files.”

The investigation will be conducted without influence from members of the Senate, said McCann, who would not speculate on what sanctions Lucido might face if he is found to have violated Senate rules.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.