Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approved a $20 million grant benefiting one of her campaign donors, and a prominent businessman tied to the project told the House speaker there will be "no negotiations" about it, according to a text message released Wednesday in court records.
That revelation, along with others about the Whitmer administration's handling of the 2022 state taxpayer funding awarded to Fay Beydoun's Global Link International, came in a 41-page affidavit from Kyle Kolka, a special agent in Attorney General Dana Nessel's office.
Nessel's team is bringing 16 criminal charges against Beydon for misusing the $20 million grant that was meant to establish a business accelerator, according to the court records released Wednesday.
The affidavit detailing the criminal charges against Beydoun cited an interview with Trevor Pawl, who previously worked in Whitmer's administration as her chief mobility officer. Pawl said he met with Beydoun about her plan in the summer of 2021, and Beydoun's initial pitch for the grant was "one of the worst concepts that I had ever, ever seen."
"She was able to skip over the (Michigan Economic Development Corp.) to get what she wanted, then ultimately — now, I'm making assumptions — but ultimately come back and force their hand," Pawl said, according to the affidavit.
