Whitmer Hastily Arranges Press Conference to Distract from Hush Money Testimony
Whitmer Scheduled Press Conference for 9:30 am to Pre-empt 10:30 am Testimony on Her Hush Money Pay-Off
LANSING, MICH—Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer scheduled a 9:30 press conference this morning to discuss her failed pandemic response in an attempt to distract the public from the House Oversight Committee’s questioning of Whitmer’s former health director at 10:30 am.
“Whitmer is attempting to distract Michiganders from questions surrounding her hush money pay-off to her former health director who mysteriously resigned in the middle of a global pandemic,” said Ted Goodman, Communications Director of the Michigan Republican Party. “Why did Whitmer hastily put this press conference together and will she give us details about her personal trip to Florida?”
The House Oversight Committee, under Chairman Steve Johnson (R-Wayland), voted to subpoena Gordon after he declined to voluntarily come before the committee.
Robert Gordon led the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response as the director of public health for the first ten months of the pandemic before abruptly resigning without explanation in January. It later came out that Whitmer paid Gordon $155,506 in hush money to stay silent on the circumstances surrounding his departure.
Due to pressure from the MIGOP, Whitmer was forced to waive the confidentiality agreement, but many questions remained unanswered. (RELATED: Gov. Whitmer Forced to Drop Hush Money Agreement with Outgoing Health Director Gordon After GOP Pressure)
Michiganders deserve to know what legal claims, against the State of Michigan, Gordon believes the $155,000 payment induced him to waive. If there is a legal claim he’s been induced to waive, there’s a serious problem with Whitmer’s governance. If there was no claim, he could reasonably believe he was induced to stay quiet about, then why was the hush money agreement made?