Why Did Dana Nessel Turn on Gretchen Whitmer?

If you haven’t heard by now, Attorney General Dana Nessel has 16 felony charges against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s longtime donor and friend, Fay Beydoun.

Beydoun is accused of improper use of a $20 million taxpayer-funded grant received for her business accelerator Global Link International in 2022—shortly after she made significant contributions to Whitmer’s reelection campaign for governor.

Whitmer’s office was involved in approving the secret earmark through the Michigan Legislature, and Beydoun allegedly spent the money on personal use through a $550,000 salary, $4,500 coffee maker, Turkish rugs, and luxurious travel.

More charges are possible as a result of the investigation.

The investigation and story were first reported in April 2024, but there were no charges until last week—almost two years later and just six months before Michigan’s critical statewide election.

So why is Nessel now pursuing charges that put Whitmer and her in administration in a bad light? What is her motivation? Why did she wait so long to charge Beydoun?

We warned you Dana Nessel was the most dangerous woman in Lansing last year. She’s dangerous because her time in office is ending, she doesn’t appear to have further political pursuits, and she may have some scores to settle with her fellow Charlie’s Angels.

She also has a history of aligning with and protecting Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who’s running for governor.

In 2022, Nessel dismissed charges against Benson’s husband, Ryan Friedrichs, for a deleted email scandal involving Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, now also running for governor as an independent.

The relationship between Duggan and Benson is complicated, as he is considered to be a potential spoiler to her bid for governor. He appears to have a good relationship with Whitmer.

Earlier this year, Nessel declined to charge Benson for a campaign finance violation when she used a state-owned building to announce her run for governor. Although she did agree it was a clear violation of Michigan Campaign Finance law, she declined to charge her citing that she “lacked authority.”

Further complicating things are Nessel’s own legal issues.

Nessel faces a potential investigation for her involvement in former Democrat Party Treasurer Traci Kornak’s embezzlement case, where she allegedly broke a legal firewall to keep Kornak from being charged.

Kornak now faces charges in Kent County, despite her efforts, and Nessel in contempt of the Michigan Legislature for her refusal to testify.

Nessel’s wife, Alanna Maguire, serves on Whitmer’s MEDC Arts and Culture Council, overlapping with Fay Beydoun’s time at MEDC. Maguire is facing scrutiny from her involvement in a prior “dark money” investigation that was referred to Benson’s office for campaign finance violations.

It went nowhere.

Whitmer has declined to make an endorsement in the Michigan governor’s race and the highly competitive U.S. Senate race. Are Nessel and Benson teaming up to leverage endorsements or other favors from Whitmer?

Or are they trying to keep her from advancing other candidates?

We can’t know for sure what is motivating Nessel to turn on Michigan’s top Mean Girl, but—whatever her reasons—we’re here for it.