Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during the 2020 Democratic National Convention (Video screenshot)
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, whose extreme lockdown orders during the coronavirus pandemic triggered a move to impeach her, says she has no liability for what happened because she followed federal guidelines.
The issue arose this week when Peter Lucido, the prosecutor in the state's Macomb County, told a broadcaster that he is restricted in what he can investigate of the large number of COVID deaths in nursing homes in the state, "but if it is revealed that there was 'willful neglect of office' or 'reckless endangerment of a person's life,' there could be criminal charges" against the governor, Fox News reported.
The issue is similar to the criticisms facing New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, whose administration apparently concealed the number of deaths after he ordered nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients and place them in populations that previously were uninfected.
Lucido, a former Republican state senator, "was appealing to those in the state who may have lost loved ones to the virus who were in nursing homes to seek out information about the deaths," Fox reported.
Federal medical privacy laws prevent his office from obtaining all of the information families might.
Lucido said Whitmer "could possibly face charges for her early handling of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities," Fox reported.
Already, according to a commentary at RedState, a lawsuit has been filed in Michigan to obtain information from the state under the Freedom of Information Act.
It explained that last year, as a state senator, Lucido was frustrated by Whitmer's lack of transparency in her decision-making.
"This relationship between the governor and the legislative branch has not improved and now with a former state senator in a county prosecutor position who could actually pursue an investigation, this changes the dynamic a bit," RedState said.
Lucido already has called on those who feel their family members in a nursing home were victims to "file a police report which then, in theory, would be investigated and turned over to his office," the commentary said.
Fox reported that Whitmer, in response to Lucido's statement, that Lucido was engaging in "shameful political attacks based in neither fact or reality."
"The administration's policies carefully tracked CDC guidance on nursing homes, and we prioritized testing of nursing home residents and staff to save lives," the governor's statement claimed.
"Early in the pandemic, the state acted swiftly to create a network of regional hubs with isolation units and adequate PPE to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within a facility. In addition, we have offered 100 percent of nursing home resident priority access to the vaccine."
Whitmer made a reputation for herself during the pandemic by being sued by 400 private schools for ordering them to close. She also was mentioned as a possible impeachment target for her orders. And she banned weddings and stopped hair stylists from doing business.
She even went online to tell children, during a "Santa" call, not to visit family at Christmas.
Eventually the Michigan Supreme Court announced she had exceeded her authority with her pandemic orders.
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