The state of Michigan is now facing a lawsuit in which the plaintiffs are seeking information on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s coronavirus-related executive order regarding the state’s nursing home residents.
Lawsuit Aims To Hold Gov. Whitmer Accountable Over Nursing Home
Whitmer may find herself under the same scrutiny faced by fellow Democrat, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Michigan men that are taking the legal action against Whitmer say.
Plaintiffs Steve Delie and Charlie LeDuff explained the purpose of their lawsuit in an article published by USA Today on Friday.
Steve Delie is an official with the think tank Mackinac Center for Public Policy. LeDuff is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
“It shouldn’t take a lawsuit to obtain this critical data,” the pair write. “Gov. Whitmer made the same policy choice as Gov. Cuomo, forcing contagious senior citizens into close proximity with other medically vulnerable people. In fact, her policy, a similar version of which is still in effect today, went even farther, forcing some non-senior patients into nursing homes, including a 20-year-old. Michigan citizens deserve to know why she did this, and whether our governor is telling the truth about the consequences.”
The writers say Whitmer issued her executive order April 15, 2020, just a few weeks after Cuomo issued his similar order in New York on March 25, 2020.
They go on to note the recent disclosures about the Cuomo administration’s underreporting of deaths of New York’s nursing home patients as the coronavirus spread. New York patient numbers were underreported by more than 40% while the state’s deaths were underreported by more than 75%, they note, citing reporting by The Associated Press.
Delie and LeDuff argue that the New York public had a right to know accurate information about what was happening regarding nursing home patients but didn’t receive the data until after a five-month-long legal fight.
Our federal courts & law agencies aren’t interested. It’s good to be a DemocRAT.