(Source: MIRS.news, Published 12/8/2023) Michigan Republican Party (MRP) Chair Kristina Karamo inferred in a new podcast Friday that she is attempting to use the party headquarters as an asset the way prior administrations used it, which was to pay off what was owed by former party leadership.
She claimed that the state party is not in debt and information to the contrary is being “falsely reported” by Democrats in the media who are being used by the “status quo” who are working toward her failure.
To that end, the Michigan Republican Party sued the Trust and Comerica Bank in Ingham County Circuit Court today, presumably in an attempt to use the Trust's asset to pay off the MRP's $500,000 line of credit. She's making the argument that former Chair Ron Weiser left her with debt, so she's using an asset used by former chairs to pay off that debt.
This is likely what Karamo was referring to when she said in her podcast:
“On this building controversy. I was not elected to bail out the former chair,” Karamo said. “I do not believe I will be acting in good faith if I take people's hard-earned dollars that they give to save the country and bail out the former administration, who left us with a six-figure debt . . . especially considering there's a legal pathway for us to remedy that debt."
The problem with this approach is that the Party doesn't own the headquarters. Bobby Schostak, chair of the Michigan Republican Party Trust, told MIRS on Thursday that the building belongs to the Trust and “if (the MRP) think they have any rights to it, they are dead-ass wrong.”
A spreadsheet from the end of October shows that the party had a $459,660 line of outstanding debt on Feb. 28, 2023, when Karamo took over. Schostak told MIRS this amount of debt is typical after an election cycle and that prior chairs typically pay that off over the first few months of their tenure.
But Karamo downplayed the power of money in electing Republicans, focusing instead on her “Good Neighbor” networking program that includes an election security operation.
She said that basing the party's success on the amount of money it raises and spends is a return to the “failed status quo” of prior administrations if the result of spending that money is more general election losses.
During the MRP's inaugural Friday podcast, Karamo said the success of the party should be based on winning elections and “saving our country," which she said she's doing.
As far as the MRP's finances, Karamo said the party does not have “massive debt” and information claiming otherwise has been “falsely reported.” Her version of the situation has the party with $646,351 in liabilities and $916,311 in assets. However, $564,378 of that is based on declaring the former state party headquarters as an asset.
She said money donated to the MRP is being put “to good use, and it's put to the use of saving this country.”
The new podcast comes three weeks before MRP State Committee members attempt a Dec. 27 meeting to remove Karamo as chair for financial mismanagement, among other things.
