It was as blatant as a slap in the face.
When Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land last week imposed civil fines on Meijer, Inc. for its war on Acme Township, she knowingly derailed any possible criminal charges against the company's top brass, despite powerful evidence of wrongdoing.
Her decision proved what most observers thought all along -- Land values the political and monetary clout Meijer can provide her future political career more than she does the law, more than she does Michigan voters and more than her oath of office.
She can take the "for sale" sign down; the deal has been struck.
From the very beginning it was clear Land was ready and willing to give Meijer's top executives a pass. Her first comments after details began to emerge of how the company underwrote an Acme ballot initiative and then orchestrated a failed recall attempt clearly showed she was ready to take Meijer's word for it; whatever they said they did was fine by her.
Last week Land said she was fining Meijer $190,000 for various violations of campaign finance laws related to Acme. What she knew but didn't say, however, was that by levying the fines she also short-circuited a possible criminal probe by Attorney General Mike Cox.
What made her decision all the more brazen was that numerous individuals, from the Acme Township attorney to Grand Traverse Prosecutor Alan Schneider to the head of Michigan's Campaign Finance Network, had publicly called on her to ask Cox to conduct a criminal probe.
Schneider had asked that any agreement between Land and Meijer would not give cover to individuals and would also require Meijer to cooperate in a criminal investigation. Neither request was part of the deal.
A spokeswoman for Land -- she refused to personally talk to the Record-Eagle -- claimed it was not Land's intent to give individuals blanket immunity. That is obviously -- to put it politely -- not true. Land knew exactly what the effect of a broad agreement would be and did it anyway. Claiming otherwise is just another way to express her contempt for the people and the process.
A spokesman for Cox said Land did not consult with the attorney general's office before making her decision, further evidence that it was no decision at all; it was pre-ordained, and Land didn't want anyone -- particularly another high-ranking elected official -- advising her otherwise.
Through his spokesman, Cox said, "The attorney general is now precluded from investigating any campaign-related charge, such as improper donations, corporate donations or the laundering of contributions."
Even under Michigan's anemic campaign finance laws there are actual prohibitions against improper donations, corporate donations to most elections and flushing money through a front group to hide the actual source.
Individuals have said, under oath, that Meijer, its law firm and its public relations firm did all of that and more.
But because Land put her political future above the interests of justice and the demands of the law, those possible violations are now mere footnotes.
What makes this all the more disheartening, of course, is that this is Land's job, the reason taxpayers underwrite her $124,900-a-year salary and sweetheart benefits. As secretary of state it is her specific obligation to monitor campaign donations with an eye to violations of the law and then pursue them.
While the state's weak-kneed campaign finance laws call for "conciliation" with violators, they do not substitute conciliation for prosecution when that's appropriate. Land has not only the authority but the obligation to ask the attorney general's office to conduct criminal probes when there is evidence that violations have taken place. This case was rife with such indications, but Land went out of her way to make sure nothing untoward happened to top Meijer brass.
Land is said to have aspirations for higher office (namely governor); but this episode has done major damage to her credibility. Who can now believe a word she says? On the most public of stages and in the most public of ways she repudiated her obligations and let people who should have faced consequences for their decisions off the hook -- all so she can be governor. What a sham.
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
