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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is facing an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) complaint over her controversial trip to Florida in March, which she initially lied about taking and which came after she had cautioned against out-of-state travel due to coronavirus risks.
Conservative advocacy group Michigan Rising Action filed the IRS complaint against Whitmer and alleges the governor's trip to Florida was outside the tax-exempt scope of her transition organization that helped pay for the trip.
The governor paid over $27,000 for her flight through a combination of payments from an inauguration-related nonprofit and with her own out-of-pocket cash, according to her office.
The complaint also alleges that Whitmer's chartered private jet, costing over $27,000, was "a private benefit" to the embattled governor.
"In light of these facts, we encourage you to investigate whether Michigan Transition 2019 has violated the Internal Revenue Code, and if so, to take the appropriate action, including the assessment of any appropriate penalties," the complaint reads.
"Gov. Whitmer’s use of 501(c)(4) funds for personal benefit is a clear violation of the law and we’ve asked the IRS to launch a full investigation into the matter," Eric Ventimiglia, Michigan Rising Action executive director, said in a press release.
"From her blatant hypocrisy to the litany of ethical and legal violations, Gov. Whitmer has spent the last two months misleading the people of Michigan about her trip to Florida. It’s time for her to be held accountable," he continued.
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Michigan Republican Party communications director Ted Goodman told Fox News on Wednesday that Whitmer’s dodginess about her trip and lying about it is "downright insulting" to Michiganders.
"Gov. Whitmer refuses to come clean about the financial arrangement surrounding her secret private jet trip to Florida," said Goodman. "The way Whitmer communicates with the people of Michigan – with her lies and hypocrisy – is downright insulting."
Republican Governors Association spokesman Chris Gustafson called for Whitmer to be held accountable and said there were "far too many" questions still unanswered about the governor’s trip to Florida.
"Far too many questions remain unanswered surrounding Gretchen Whitmer’s secret Florida vacation, and now Whitmer’s cover-up appears to have hit another pothole," Gustafson told Fox News on Wednesday.
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"Michigan's part-time governor must be held accountable for her reckless disregard for the rules and complete lack of transparency," Gustafson added.
Whitmer's office did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment.
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