Tsernoglou 'Done Asking' Hall For Vote On Epstein-Interlochen Committee

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 05/19/2026) Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) said Tuesday afternoon that she is "done asking" House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's connections to the Interlochen Center for the Arts, demanding an immediate vote on a resolution creating a special House committee to examine the matter.

"I have gone through all the formal channels. I have asked nicely, and I have done everything I possibly can to give Speaker Hall the benefit of the doubt on this issue, but we are done asking," Tsernoglou said alongside Reps. Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy), Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) and Reggie Miller (D-Belleville).

Tsernoglou said her office began researching potential Michigan connections to Epstein after the release of federal files and found that Interlochen had received state grants during the same general time period when Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were believed to have used the campus to prey on children.

She said Michigan taxpayers were providing funding that "appears to have played a significant role" in the school's operations during the 1980s and 1990s. She specifically cited 1991, when then-Gov. John Engler proposed decreasing Interlochen's grant funding by $400,000, which she said prompted warnings from the school's president about staffing, scholarships, tours, outreach programs and other reductions.

"As that picture started to become clear, so too did the fact that the Michigan House of Representatives not only has the legal authority but is constitutionally empowered to demand answers in the case of Interlochen and Epstein," Tsernoglou said.

HR 284, since referred to Government Operations, would create a six-member select committee, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, to examine Interlochen and its relationship with Epstein and report findings, conclusions and potential recommendations back to the House.

Tsernoglou said the resolution drew bipartisan interest, with Republican lawmakers joining Democrats as co-sponsors. However, she said the resolution has since "been ignored in hopes that it would go away."

She also criticized House Oversight Chair Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay), who she said sent a letter claiming the Legislature did not have authority to investigate the matter and suggesting lawmakers defer to the law firm hired by Interlochen to conduct its own review.

Tsernoglou said lawmakers should not rely on Interlochen's internal review to answer questions about whether anyone at the school knew about or enabled Epstein's alleged conduct.

She also argued that the touted Hall Ethics, Accountability and Transparency (HEAT) does not extend to institutions receiving taxpayer money.

"Speaker Hall claimed that the Michigan House was partaking in Michigan's most significant transparency reform in decades," Tsernoglou said. "Yet, when faced with a real issue of transparency, the alleged sexual assault of children who were attending an institution receiving state funding, Speaker Hall and Oversight Chair DeBoyer have chosen to look the other way."

Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City)'s HR 258, introduced March 5 and also referred to the Committee on Government Operations, calls on Congress to investigate all individuals implicated in the Epstein files and compel them to testify under oath.

In her recorded statement, Coffia said survivors "deserve answers from their government at every level," adding that Michigan lawmakers should use their platform even though they do not have a vote in Congress.

"We can use our voices as representatives for the state of Michigan, which was unfortunately the site of some of Jeffrey Epstein's earliest predator behavior against children," Coffia said.

During questions, Tsernoglou said she had not yet spoken with the law firm handling Interlochen's review. She also said she understood the Attorney General's office does not currently have the ability to investigate because of the statute of limitations.

Asked about the timeline for moving her resolution, Tsernoglou said the resolution could move quickly — in a matter of a day or two days — if Hall wanted it to. She said the Speaker could direct the committee to discharge it or vote it out to then be placed before the full House. Though she noted that the committee is known as a place where bills often go if they aren't going anywhere else.

MIRS asked if Republican co-sponsors of the resolutions also support her demand for an immediate floor vote. Tsernoglou said she had not asked them to specifically back Tuesday's demand, but noted several Republicans signed onto the resolution and others had privately expressed interest in an investigation.

"By cosigning the resolution, I can assume they would like to see it happen and see it voted on, but I don't want to speak for them," Tsernoglou said.

Miller was more pointed, questioning why none of those Republicans appeared alongside Democrats at Tuesday’s press conference.

"Where are they today?" Miller said. "It should be bipartisan. They should be here. Why do you only see Democrats here? That's ridiculous. We know what has been going on here, but why the divide? Why on something this important?"

MIRS followed by asking if they had been invited. Tsernoglou said the press conference was publicly noticed and that "everyone's aware" of such events if they choose to attend.