Judge will take additional briefs before deciding on trial for ex-Speaker Lee Chatfield

Yahoo

28-02-2025

EAST LANSING – A hearing to decide if former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield should stand trial over a series of alleged financial crimes related to his use of political funds wrapped up Friday after three days of testimony and argument, although it could be months still before a judge issues a ruling.
Chatfield, a Republican from Levering who led the House in 2019 and 2020, was charged last year with 13 embezzlement, conspiracy and larceny charges in East Lansing 54B District Court. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office claims he knowingly used money from political funds to pay for vacations, dinners at upscale restaurants and other non-permitted items when he was a lawmaker.
State prosecutors made their final pitch to District Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt about binding Chatfield — and his wife Stephanie Chatfield, who faces one count each of embezzlement and conspiracy — over for a jury trial. Both Lee and Stephanie Chatfield pleaded not guilty to all charges at an arraignment last year.
But before deciding whether a trial should take place, Hennessey Greenwalt wants prosecutors and Lee Chatfield's lawyers to explain what the former Speaker's role was with the political funds he's accused of embezzling money from. She gave the Attorney General's office until March 31 to submit its brief and the defense until April 30 to respond. The judge's ruling on whether to continue the case and send the Chatfields to a trial will come after that.
Nessel's office argues Lee Chatfield and Stephanie Chatfield spent thousands of dollars on a credit card on things like vacations, clothes and meals at upscale restaurants, and then knowingly used the Peninsula Fund's money to pay off their credit card balance.
On Thursday, a forensic accountant called by the government as a witness said her analysis of the Chatfields' bank and credit card statements found there were likely thousands of dollars spent on things that weren't permissible under the Peninsula Fund's stated goals. The Peninsula Fund, as a 501c(4) social welfare fund, is allowed to pay for certain permissible political activities. For politicians, a 501c(4) fund can be advantageous because the organizations are subject to fewer public disclosure requirements and contribution limits than traditional candidate committees, allowing for greater fundraising and less scrutiny.
Lee Chatfield, through his attorneys, argued Friday that no wrongdoing took place – and if the credit card spending reimbursed by the Peninsula Fund was improper, a law firm contracted by the Peninsula Fund to ensure compliance would have, and perhaps should have, raised alarm.
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Earlier in the hearing on Wednesday, Renae Moore, a senior compliance specialist with the Dykema law firm who was the assistant treasurer/secretary of the Peninsula Fund, testified that some spending reimbursements paid to Chatfield were questionable, including a receipt from a strip club which was eventually filed under meeting expenses.
Lee Chatfield's attorneys have argued it was the responsibility of Moore and the Peninsula Fund's former president to ensure compliance, not the former Speaker's. Anne Minard, a former aide of Lee Chatfield during his time in the Capitol, was the Peninsula Fund's president. Minard faces felony financial charges of embezzling political funds. Her husband, Rob Minard, also faces charges in the case.
Mary Chartier, Lee Chatfield's lead defense attorney, told reporters following the hearing she's encouraged the judge asked the parties to submit more briefs. At preliminary exams, the standard of evidence the prosecution has to prove is lower than it is at a jury trial. Instead of needing to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, at a preliminary exam, the prosecution only needs to prove probable cause that a crime took place to bind a defendant over for trial.
'The fact that the judge is taking the time to go through the evidence, the fact that she is asking for additional briefing on one of the elements, is quite a really important point, and one that we view extremely favorably,' Chartier said outside the courtroom.
The most serious charge Lee Chatfield faces carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, if convicted. Stephanie Chatfield's charges each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, if convicted.
Along with seeking improper reimbursements from political nonprofits, the state also alleges Lee Chatfield falsified mileage reimbursement forms while he was a lawmaker, claiming reimbursements for trips he didn't take. Prosecutors also claim Lee Chatfield profited by subletting a Lansing apartment where rent was paid for by the Peninsula Fund.
Lee Chatfield has denied the charges.
As a lawmaker, Lee Chatfield was considered a prolific fundraiser. Chartier noted the Peninsula Fund, at one point, had raised 'millions and millions' of dollars.
In Dec. 2021 Rebekah Chatfield, Lee Chatfield's sister-in-law, told Lansing police she had been sexually assaulted by Lee Chatfield from the time she was 15 years old and a student at the northern Michigan religious school where Lee Chatfield taught. She also reported misuse of campaign funds at the time, according to her court testimony Thursday.
Lee Chatfield has denied any sexual assault. Chartier previously said a years-long consensual affair took place between Lee Chatfield and Rebekah Chatfield when both were adults.
Michigan State Police began investigating Lee Chatfield, and were later joined by Nessel's office in the investigation. When Nessel announced the financial charges against Lee and Stephanie Chatfield in April, she said the investigation into the sexual assault allegations was closed without charges.
An investigation into the Chatfields' finances remains open and ongoing, according to documents filed by prosecutors in court Feb. 19.
This story has been updated.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge to rule whether ex-Speaker Chatfield, wife, should stand trial