December 28, 2022

Holiday Special – Corruption Dejá Vu

43 minutes

More than 100 years ago, George Satayana wrote “those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” When it comes to political scandals it is especially true. So today, some Michigan political history that may foreshadow one of the first big stories of 2023.

Pulitizer Prize-winning reproters Eric Freedman, and Jim, Mitzelfeld, right, celebrate news of their award April 12, 1994 with Detroit News Editor and Publisher Robert H. Giles. The first story in their winning series on the mishandling of spending by the Michigan State House Fiscal Agency was printed in January 1993. Diane Weiss / The Detroit News

And that is the investigation of former state House Speaker Lee Chatfield – an investigation that began with accusations of sexual misbehavior and quickly branched out to major misuse of government money, campaign fundraising practices bordering on bribery, and the sometimes toxic intersection of high-powered lobbyists and government decision makers.

29 years ago Lansing was embroiled in a scandal with many of the same overtones of the Chatfield affair. Massive amounts of money were stolen by the powerful and excessively independent director of the state House of Representatives’ fiscal agency.

Mitzelfeld (left) and Friedman (right) nearly 30 years later, joined by 1990 Pulitzer winner M.L. Elrick of the Detroit Free Press.

As has been true with the Chatfield scandal, much of the public’s knowledge of the corrupt behavior was revealed by reporters from the Detroit News. The coverage of the 1993 House Fiscal Agency Scandal was led by reporters Jim Mitzelfeld and Eric Freedman. They were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting … and they join us on a special edition of “A Republic, If You Can Keep It”. (The interview was recorded before we learned that the U.S. Justice Department was assisting in the Chatfield investigation; anything either of our guests say regarding that investigation is solely based on what they had read in the news.)

For more information on the two scandals:

• The 7 worst political scandals in Michigan history

• The Scandal, 20 Years Later – John Lindstrom blog post

• Corruption lingers 20 years after legislative scandal erupts – Spartan Newsroom (by Eric Freedman)

• Leaders act quickly in fiscal agency scandal. – Free Online Library

• U.S. v. MORBERG | 863 F.Supp. 511 (1994) | upp51111272 | Leagle.com

• Michigan State Police hand off Lee Chatfield probe to Attorney General | Bridge Michigan

• Ex-Speaker Lee Chatfield provided foothold in government for lobbyists – Detroit News

• Lee Chatfield traveled the nation as Michigan’s speaker, but who paid?

• Livengood: Chatfield scandal exposes unchecked influence of lobbyists

• Commentary: Tarnished gavels – Is corruption an occupational hazard for House speakers? – Spartan Newsroom (by Eric Freedman)

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