LANSING, Mich. — Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt on Thursday sent a letter to U.S. Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz requesting a federal investigation to determine the role foreign leaders played in the growing scandal involving the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the alleged misuse of a $20 million taxpayer-funded grant awarded to former executive board member Fay Beydoun’s nonprofit, Global Link International.
“The more this web is untangled, the more serious our concerns become,” said Nesbitt, R-Porter Township. “Reports that Gov. Whitmer signed and sent a letter to Qatari officials, encouraging them to communicate off the record with Beydoun, are especially troubling given the governor’s own recent travel to Qatar.”
In his letter to Horowitz, Nesbitt wrote, “While Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is conducting a state-level investigation into the grant’s misuse, the potential national security implications and the involvement of foreign officials elevate this matter to a federal concern.”
