LANSING, MI- On Saturday, November 15th, Matt Maddock, Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, called for impeachment hearings for Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Enough is enough! #ImpeachWhitmer now! @MIGOPChair @MIGOP @MIGOP13 @matthewmaddock https://t.co/dyGf4oCS8R
— Berto🇺🇸🦅🥃 (@MyManBerto) November 16, 2020
The Milford Township representative tweeted:
“Today, myself and a growing list of Michigan Legislators have decided that @GovWhitmer has crossed the line and will be calling for #ImpeachWhitmer hearings.
The list of violations is long and the call is overdue #MIGOP #MILEG.”
Reportedly, the statement came on the heels of new COVID-19 restrictions that were issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday, November 15th. The order bans indoor dining at restaurants and bars.
Today, myself and a growing list of Michigan Legislators have decided that @GovWhitmer has crossed the line and will be calling for #ImpeachWhitmer hearings. The list of violations is long and the call is overdue #MIGOP #MILEG
— Matt Maddock (@matthewmaddock) November 16, 2020
Additionally, theaters, movie theaters, stadiums, arenas, bowling centers, ice skating rinks, indoor water parks, bingo halls, casinos, and arcades must close. Group fitness classes have been suspended.
Whitmer also shuttered in-person learning for high schoolers, arguing that that population has the most contact with their peers.
Amateur organized sports, including current high school playoff seasons are also “paused.” Whitmer dubbed the actions a three-week “pause.” On Parler, Maddock posted:
“Myself and the following members: Daire Rendon, Beau LaFave, Ryan Berman, Shane Hernandez, Dan Lauwers, Land Theis, and a growing list of Legislators are calling forth with for impeachment hearings for Governor Whitmer.”
He added:
“Michigan voters know she has committed the following impeachable conduct: ignored court orders, violated our Constitutional rights, completely ignored due process and the legislature, weaponized contract tracing databases and aid democrat campaigns, using our kids as political pawns and denied special needs students who depend on the services that occur during in-person classes.
Caused the unnecessary death of thousands of our vulnerable elderly who died alone and scared in nursing homes.”
He finished by writing:
“I’ve listed the first things that come to my mind. What did I miss.”
According to reports, in Michigan, the House of Representatives initiates impeachment and a majority vote is required. In the next legislative, Republican will have a 58-52 majority. Three representatives would be appointed to prosecute the impeachment case in the Senate.
Two-thirds of senators must vote to convict the governor in order for her to be removed. Republicans hold a 22-16 majority in that chamber, so at least three Democrats would need to vote affirmatively for removal.
Tonight, @MichiganHHS issued an emergency order that enacts a three-week pause, targeting indoor social gatherings and other group activities to curb our state’s rising #COVID19 infection rates. pic.twitter.com/yEc0enVPBX
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) November 16, 2020
In response to Maddock’s post, Tiffany Brown, press secretary for Whitmer’s office said:
“Governor Whitmer doesn’t have any time for partisan politics or people who don’t wear masks, don’t believe in science, and don’t have a plan to fight this virus.”
She added:
“Right now, she is focused on saving lives. The governor will continue to work hard for all 10 million Michiganders. This is about Michigan vs. COVID-19. Governor Whitmer doesn’t care if you’re a Trump Republican or a Biden Democrat. We are all in this together.”
However, according to reports, this session, the Republican-led House and Senate were often at odds with Whitmer, especially when it came to responding to the state’s COVID-19 pandemic.
Legal challenges to Whitmer’s emergency power supported by Republicans ultimately went to the Michigan Supreme Court, which struck down her authority to declare an emergency without legislative approval after 28 days.
Jason Wentworth set to serve as next Michigan House Speaker https://t.co/zvSqK6LQ0G
— Glenn (@Glenn18232954) November 6, 2020
During a recent press conference, Whitmer called on the legislature to back up the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services emergency public health order by enacting a mask mandate.
When asked about whether he would support doing so, Rep. Jason Wentworth, the next speaker of the Michigan House, was critical of her making the comments at a press conference instead of working directly with legislative leadership. He said:
“It looks more like a press stunt to me than it does an actual policy.”
Do you want to join our private family of first responders and supporters? Get unprecedented access to some of the most powerful stories that the media refuses to show you. Proceeds get reinvested into having active, retired and wounded officers, their families and supporters tell more of these stories. Click to check it out.
MICHIGAN – During a June 19thinterview on No BS New Hours, Michigan state Republican Senator Peter Lucido alleged that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s policies with regard to co-mingling positive COVID patients with those not infected within nursing homes is at this point a criminal act.
In Senator Lucido’s perspective, Governor Whitmer “cold-blooded killed” elderly patients within the state’s nursing homes by the very practice.
State Senator: Gretchen Whitmer ‘Cold-Blooded Killed’ Nursing Home Patients; Vows to Prosecute Governor https://t.co/YWs0S2kzgv
— ♡ 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝 ℕ𝕠𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕪 ♡ ℂ𝕛♡ #ℕ𝕆 #𝔻𝕄𝕊 (@ShotsRangOut) June 23, 2020
While speaking with the show host Charlie LeDuff, the state senator stated the following:
“What our governor has done is literally cold-blooded killed the most injured parties that are out there. The ones that have compromised immune systems—cold-blooded.”
When remarking on the actions taken by the governor’s disregard for common sense that he believes embarks upon criminal acts, Senator Lucido noted that the science proves that the move to keep elderly patients uninfected with COVID among those infected is grossly irresponsible:
“Science and data do not support infecting healthy people who have to be protected at all costs.”
Gov. Whitmer ignored the experts when they sounded the alarm about COVID-19 in nursing homes, and Michiganders suffered.
While Whitmer won’t take responsibility for her actions, I am thankful our Representatives are working to hold her accountable. https://t.co/gzh4UP5rIh
— Laura Cox (@MIGOPChair) June 27, 2020
While not mincing his words, Senator Lucido’s take on the matter was a little more tactful in his mentioning of the debacle as opposed to show host LeDuff’s take. The No BS News Hour host said that Governor Whitmer needed to “swallow” her pride and “get the goddamn shit fixed.”
When the senator was asked whether he’d explore the possibility of seeing if criminal proceedings could be levied against the state’s governor if he were ever elected as prosecutor, Lucido responded with the following:
“You’re damn right. I’d be looking at this real carefully and saying, ‘What medical data and expert did you rely on?’”
Rather than simply answer our questions, Governor Whitmer has refused to cooperate.
Even worse, House Democrats are letting her get away with it.
But grieving families still deserve answers, and her stonewalling won’t stop us from getting them.https://t.co/Nl18pEtr70
— Select Committee Republicans (@SelectGOP) June 23, 2020
Senator Lucido explained that via Governor Whitmer essentially poising herself during the COVID response as being the sole decision maker on numerous matters related to the pandemic, he would absolutely prosecute her is he were in said position of power:
“I can look down at the data, which is not there, the science, which is not there, and have doctors come to testify to support that the medical decisions that were made here were made unilaterally by one person only…Gretchen Whitmer – you’re damn right she’s going to get charged because she deserves to own up to those deaths in those nursing homes.”
Governor Whitmer’s response to COVID in relation to nursing homes bears a significant resemblance to the backlash that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo received for running similar nursing home practices during the outbreak.
Apparently, the New York state Department of Health website tried to cover up the remnants of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s March 25th order that forced nursing homes to admit COVID patients into the facilities.
However, the internet always leaves a trace, no matter what.
The cover up continues. Cuomo administration website delete his March 25th order to nursing homes to take in in Coronavirus patients (the result was 5000 dead seniors) https://t.co/RK7YScytIY
— MARK SIMONE (@MarkSimoneNY) May 27, 2020
The webpage that once contained the March orders from the governor’s office about nursing homes being required to take in recent COVID patients has mysteriously vanished.
Obviously, there’s not much mystery to it, as it was clearly taken down after the backlash received over the confusing mandate delivered while the elderly were cited as being most vulnerable to the virus.
While Governor Cuomo at least amended the decision on compelling nursing homes to admit recent COVID patients, it wasn’t fixed until early May. Giving over a month’s time for the virus to wreak havoc in the likes of elderly care facilities not medically poised to deal with a sudden increase in infected patients.
Even though the webpage appears to have been scrubbed on or after May 5th, an archived version of the page still exists – thanks to the Wayback Machine. Thus, the bizarre order given in late March by Governor Cuomo can be forever referenced by those curious as to what he was thinking on March 25th.
The AP reports that more than 4,500 recovering coronavirus patients were sent to nursing homes in NYC, despite a warning from AMDA that the Cuomo’s orders created a “clear and present danger.”https://t.co/hpB8wMkmzF
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) May 25, 2020
The original order carried such quotable gems, like the following:
“No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.”
What was perhaps the most troubling from that delivered order was the portion related to saying nursing homes couldn’t even test those recently released by hospitals for COVID.
Effectively, not allowing the facilities to be able to appropriately address recently released patients who may have been still positive for the virus.
Elaine Mazzotta is a nurse who recently had her mother pass away from a suspected COVID case inside of a Long Island nursing home where she resided. She thinks the manner that the state handled nursing home admissions was “negligent”:
“The way this has been handled by the state is totally irresponsible, negligent and stupid. They knew better. They shouldn’t have sent these people into nursing homes.”
Governor Cuomo’s office defended their March 25th order by saying they were simply following the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidelines published on March 13th. Melissa DeRosa, Governor Cuomo’s secretary, referenced this portion of the March 13th memorandum:
“Note: Nursing homes should admit any individuals that they would normally admit to their facility, including individuals from hospitals where a case of COVID-19 was/is present. Also, if possible, dedicate a unit/wing exclusively for any residents coming or returning from the hospital.”
When the secretary to the governor pointed out the following, she managed to somehow intertwine President Trump into the citation:
“Not ‘could’. ‘Should’. That is President Trump’s CMS and CDC… There are over a dozen states that did the exact same thing.”
Did you know:
More people have died as a result of New York & New Jersey’s disastrous Nursing Home policies than coronavirus deaths in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, and Florida COMBINED
Now Andrew Cuomo is trying to blame Trump for infecting the nursing homes
Cuomo should resign.
RT!
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 24, 2020
However, there’s two glaring holes in the “logic” provided by DeRosa pointing to the March 13th memo issued by the CMS and over a “dozen states” who followed the aforementioned.
The first being is that the memo said “should” while Cuomo’s March 25th order forced nursing homes to accept COVID patients. One is a suggestion by the CMS, and Cuomo’s was a mandate.
Big difference.
Not to mention, the CMS memo didn’t mention anything about not testing incoming residents to nursing homes, while Cuomo’s order barred nursing homes from being able to administer tests for COVID to incoming residents returning from the hospital.
As for the “dozen” other states that followed the suggestions laid out by the CMS, no other state comes close to New York in terms of rates of infection and mortality regarding the virus. Not exactly a very good comparison.
—
Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.
Make sure you click “following” and then click “see first” so you don’t miss a thing! (See image below.) Thanks for being a part of the LET family!
