Michigan Republicans filed articles of impeachment against embattled Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Tuesday.
Republican state Rep. James DeSana announced his resolution to impeach Benson during a press conference in Lansing. The three articles of impeachment accuse Benson of multiple instances of unlawful behavior, including making an $82,500 donation from her PAC to Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden’s election campaign one month before she made arguments before the state Supreme Court, failing to preserve critical election records, and coercing local boards of canvassers into certifying local elections.
“It is my belief that we are dealing with the most lawless secretary of state in Michigan history,” DeSana said.
Benson replied to the impeachment proceedings with a statement slamming the GOP.
“This is Republican lawmakers abusing their authority to access sensitive election information that would allow them — or any conspiracy theorists they share it with — to tamper with election equipment, interfere with the chain of custody of ballots, or impersonate a clerk on Election Day,” she said. “I believe in oversight and I believe in transparency. This isn’t it.”
Benson, who announced earlier this year a gubernatorial bid to succeed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent months over alleged illegal behavior.
In May, the state House passed a resolution holding Benson in contempt for failing to comply fully with multiple subpoenas for documents relating to election training materials she had distributed to officials for running the state’s elections.
“We have the right to do oversight. … We have the right to request documents, and there is no provision in law that says she can’t give us those documents. I can’t see it any other way than lawlessness,” Republican state Rep. Jay DeBoyer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told reporters. “I can’t see it any other way. We are legitimately asking for things we are legitimately entitled to.”
Earlier this month, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Benson violated the state’s campaign finance laws by announcing her campaign for governor from a public building. At the time, Benson incorrectly claimed that other candidates could use the lobby of the building for similar press conferences, according to WZZM13. Nessel said she did not hold the authority to press any charges against Benson, a fact she lamented in a letter to the secretary of state.
“It could be viewed as odd and unfair that the Secretary of State, her immediate family, her campaign, and any committee that she is connected with are the only people and entities subject to the requirements of the MCFA, but not any of the penalties for violating them,” Nessel wrote. “[But] the Legislature has not provided the Attorney General with any authority as to penalties that can be imposed.”
In October 2024, Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra filed a bar complaint against Benson over a large donation he said she made to Justice Bolden’s campaign while the justice was considering a case against the secretary of state at her court. The timing of Benson’s donation and the ruling in Benson’s favor that followed were “highly suspicious,” Hoekstra argued, and “at a minimum, casts the practice of law and the administration of justice into ill-repute.”
“Benson’s contribution to a Justice that she was appearing before is one of the largest contributions any person or PAC has been made to Bolden’s campaign and creates an appearance of impropriety that brings the legal profession into disrepute,” read a press release by the Michigan Republican Party.
During the 2024 elections, Benson was also accused of attempting to “influence the upcoming presidential election by manipulating state election procedures” when she fought to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot in Michigan.
DeSana said Monday that Benson’s alleged actions amounted to “corrupt conduct, constitutional violations, and a repeated abuse of power.”
WHITMER DRAWS SCRUTINY FOR HANDING OUT THOUSANDS IN BONUSES TO POLITICAL APPOINTEES
As she faced articles of impeachment on Tuesday, Benson called on the GOP to avert the debacle by calling in a judicial mediator “to help us reach a resolution to this matter.”
The articles of impeachment must be approved by a majority of the House in a vote. It would likely fail in the Democratic-controlled state Senate, as it requires a two-thirds vote for conviction and removal.
