(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/21/2024) The Livingston County Sheriffs’ Department and Shelby Township Police Department committed a “massive” campaign finance violation" for hosting Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance (R-Ohio) at government buildings or in a way that closed a government building.
Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy said that yesterday’s press conference with Trump was held in a building used for storage, mostly for vehicles. Two weeks ago, Vance’s press conference was staged on the steps leading up to the Shelby Township Police Department with the building being closed to accommodate himself and staff.
Section 57 of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act says “use of funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationery, postage, vehicles, equipment, supplies or other public resources” cannot be used or authorized by a “public body or an individual acting for a public body” to support or oppose a candidate or ballot proposal.
According to Elections attorney Mark Brewer, even though the campaign called it a press conference, Trump made a campaign speech against a backdrop of elected officials and sheriff vehicles using Livingston County resources.
Campaign finance expert Bob LaBrant agreed with Brewer, identifying the event in Howell as a Section 57 issue.
Murphy said in a video on Facebook that the event was not for political purposes, it was meant to address an estimated 150 members of the press and 70 invited guests. However, he told MIRS after the event that he’s sure someone will file a campaign finance violation complaint against him, at which point he’ll wait for the Secretary of State to investigate and then pay any fines that may be levied against him.
“I don’t think this is (a violation), but at the end of the day, if I’m found in violation, I’ll pay the fine and move on,” Murphy said.
Murphy said he would offer the same accommodations to the Harris-Walz campaign, and some things like police presence and closing nearby government buildings are necessary for security. Brewer also said legitimate security concerns are separate from illegally using public property.
“Any candidate could stand out on the lawn in front of a government building and it’s no First Amendment problem at all. That’s not illegal, but when he’s inside a building posing with police vehicles and uniformed police officers while he’s making a campaign speech, in my view, that’s clearly a violation of Section 57 apart from the impact of having a president in the vicinity,” Brewer said.
One exception in Section 57 provides for political acts if the facility is primarily used as a family dwelling and is not hosting a fundraising event. Brewer said that exception arose from his days leading the state party when former Gov. John Engler held a fundraising event at the governor’s mansion on Mackinac Island.
Murphy said the vehicles staged behind Trump were not taken out of service, but Brewer said it doesn’t matter.
“It’s illegal. The county building, the county cars, the uniform, the sheriffs themselves, all of that’s illegal under section 57,” Brewer said.
LaBrant said he was curious if Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott and Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole used paid time off to be at the event, or if they drove from their counties with sheriff’s department vehicles.
LaBrant said an opinion letter from the National Sheriff’s Association said that if the sheriff could appear in uniform for their own campaign, then they could probably appear in uniform for someone else’s campaign, but he added that it doesn’t clear up his other legal concerns around Section 57.
MIRS reached out to a pair of campaign finance attorneys who traditionally work for Republicans, but neither were able to respond to questions about where Brewer may be mistaken.
