LANSING — State Representatives John Chirkun (D-Roseville) and Frank Liberati (D-Allen Park), members of the select committee investigating two fellow House members accused of misconduct, are asking the chairman of the committee to redact private constituent and family information from the full report and release it to the public immediately. The House Business Office, which conducted the initial investigation, released a summary of the report, while the full version was reserved only for House leadership and committee members.
“In a court of law, all the evidence is put forward so that when a verdict is reached, we can be confident that due process was followed and an informed decision was made,” Chirkun said. “This report needs to be made public for full review to ensure that standard is upheld.”
Chirkun and Liberati sent a letter to committee chairman Rep. Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) today, stating their belief that releasing the whole report is in the best interest of the public and the full House. At the next committee meeting, they intend to introduce an amendment to the committee rules allowing the release of the report, with personal information regarding the lawmakers’ families and constituents redacted.
“We understand and respect the need to protect family members and constituents, but after carefully reviewing the full report, Rep. Chirkun and I believe personal information should be redacted and the report be made available to the public,” said Liberati. “The first step in restoring faith in this tarnished body is to be honest. The effort of releasing the report will go a long way in beginning to restore the people’s trust.”