“You can’t believe everything you read in a newspaper,” pastor Rusty Chatfield told congregants at his northern Michigan church, two days after Bridge Michigan published a report in which Lee Chatfield was accused of sexually assaulting a teen at the affiliated Christian school.
Lee Chatfield
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan House orders lawmakers to preserve Lee Chatfield records
House leadership Saturday ordered lawmakers and staff to preserve records on the former speaker, who faces sexual assault allegations. The order was spurred by allegations in a Bridge Michigan article Friday, which includes lengthy interviews with his accuser.
Posted inChildren & Families
Sister-in-law: Ex-MI House Speaker Lee Chatfield sexually assaulted me as teen
She said Chatfield groomed and then assaulted her when she was a 15- or 16-year-old student at a Chatfield family-run Christian school in northern Michigan where he taught. She said the assaults continued for years before she filed a police report in December.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Southwest Michigan First admits it has ‘work to do’ after Chatfield flap
The business group isn’t saying if the former House speaker got a severance after quitting, but it is taking stock of the controversy his hiring engendered. ‘It’s abundantly clear that the search process fell below standards.’
Posted inMichigan Government
Lee Chatfield quits Southwest Michigan First amid uproar over his politics
The former House Speaker submits a letter saying he can’t ‘apologize for various conservative beliefs I espoused while in office,’ as groups withdraw funding over his opposition expanding LBGTQ rights.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Lee Chatfield fought LGBT rights in Lansing. He’s on board in Kalamazoo.
As Republican Speaker of the House, Chatfield rose to political prominence through his opposition to gay marriage. But after backlash to his hire as CEO of an economic development group, Chatfield said he’ll support the group’s endorsement of adding LGBT protections to state law.
Posted inMichigan Government
At least 12 Michigan lawmakers and 37 staffers have had COVID-19
At least 8 percent of state lawmakers have had the coronavirus, nearly double the rate of the state as a whole, according to totals released Wednesday. Lawmakers are under scrutiny following a hearing last week that featured two attorneys for President Donald Trump who now have the coronavirus.
Posted inMichigan Government
Chatfield cancels Michigan House for week amid more COVID worries, cases
Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield reversed a decision to hold more House sessions as additional lawmakers sought tests and quarantine after possible contact with an infected staffer.
Posted inMichigan Government
Even after Giuliani, House GOP won’t disclose COVID numbers in Michigan Capitol
Six Michigan lawmakers disclosed positive COVID tests in November, and more await test results after exposure to Rudy Giuliani, who is now hospitalized. But GOP leaders don’t require reporting of positive tests, nor say how many lawmakers have the virus, which critics say imperils everyone who works in the Capitol.
Posted inMichigan Government
Lee Chatfield: Michigan could face ‘constitutional crisis’ over election
After meeting with President Trump, the Republican House leader for the first time raises the possibility that a breakdown of Michigan’s elections process may create a ‘constitutional crisis’ that lawmakers must resolve.