Michigan Advance reports a state GOP lawmaker used donor money to pay her 24-year-old son more than $24,000 in consulting fees over the last two years, after he was charged with domestic violence in September.The expenditures by the campaign committee of state Rep. Jamie Thompson, R-Brownstown Township, were uncovered through an ongoing Detroit News investigation of legislators’ campaign spending, according to Michigan Advance.“That amount totals around 15 percent of the campaign’s expenditures in that period, and includes over $5,000 since her son was charged with domestic violence in Wayne County last September,” Michigan Advance reported.Thompson, the incumbent, defended the payments to her son, however.“I needed my family’s support as I fought to bring people together and be a voice for workers and their families in our area,” Thompson said in a statement to Michigan Advance. “I needed their legwork as we talked with people in Monroe and Wayne Counties about what matters to them.” While unethical, there is no law in Michigan currently barring lawmakers from enriching their children with campaign money. And Thompson was unrepentant about the payments.“My son works in politics, and he has helped me through this process,” said Thompson, without addressing the criminal charges facing her son, Jackson Thompson. “Moving forward, I will continue to have my family’s back and the backs of so many other families who are dealing with high costs, government overreach, challenges in accessing health care, and more.”Michigan Advance reports that Jackson Thompson’s trial is set for April, and he has not yet been convicted on any of his charges, which also includes a felony charge of “interfering with electronic communications” in addition to domestic violence. The paper also notes that Jamie Thompson herself introduced a resolution last month to raise awareness for teen dating violence.Thompson’s opponent, Democrat Janise O’Neal Robinson, slammed Thompson’s “offensive” abuse of donor money, according to Michigan Advance.“This is a gross misuse of funds and a clear display of misplaced priorities,” Robinson said. “We need a representative in Lansing who is focused on lowering costs for Michigan families, not one focused on subsidizing a family member accused of violent crime.”
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