Gov. Whitmer balks at questions about Michigan AG Dana Nessel and Rashida Tlaib feud: 'Not getting in middle'

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer refused to instrumentality a broadside successful the feud betwixt Attorney General Dana Nessel and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich who accused Nessel of bringing charges against anti-Israel field protesters astatine the University of Michigan due to the fact that she is Jewish.

In an interrogation connected CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday, Jake Tapper asked the Democratic politician whether she agrees with Nessel, a Democrat, that Tlaib's accusation astir her charging anti-Israel field demonstrators due to the fact that of her idiosyncratic spiritual bias was rooted successful antisemitism.

"Do you deliberation that Tlaib's proposition that Nessel’s bureau is biased was antisemitic?" Tapper asked.

U.S. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

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"All I tin accidental is that I cognize that our Jewish assemblage is successful pain, arsenic is our Palestinian and Muslim and Arab communities successful Michigan," Whitmer said. "I cognize that seeing the unthinkable toll that this warfare has taken connected some communities has been really, truly challenging and difficult, and my bosom breaks for truthful many. But arsenic governor, my occupation is to marque definite that some these communities are protected and respected nether the instrumentality successful Michigan, and that’s precisely what I’m going to enactment focused on."

Tapper pressed her again, "Do you deliberation Attorney General Nessel is not doing her job?" 

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer looks connected astatine the United Center, connected Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) successful Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 20, 2024.  (REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid)

"Because Congresswoman Tlaib is suggesting that she shouldn’t beryllium prosecuting these individuals that Nessel says broke the law, and that she’s lone doing it due to the fact that she’s Jewish, and the protesters are not," helium continued. "That’s rather an accusation. Do you deliberation it’s true?"

Whitmer continued to dodge questions connected the issue.

"Like I said, Jake, I’m not going to get successful the mediate of this statement that they’re having," she said. "I tin conscionable accidental this: We bash privation to marque definite that students are harmless connected our campuses, and we admit that each idiosyncratic has the close to marque their connection astir however they consciousness astir an issue, a close to talk out. And I’m going to usage each lever of excavation to guarantee that some are true."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) poses for selfies with anti-Israel demonstrators extracurricular her bureau successful the Rayburn House Office Building arsenic they rallied connected Capitol Hill.   (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nessel, Michigan's archetypal Jewish lawyer general, charged 9 assemblage students for refusing to permission the anti-Israel encampments successful May aft constabulary ordered them to vacate, the Detroit Metro Times reported. They are being charged with trespassing and resisting oregon obstructing a constabulary officer, according to the outlet. Two further radical were charged with attempted taste intimidation and malicious demolition of idiosyncratic spot astatine a abstracted anti-Israel protest.

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Tlaib, a ‘Squad’ subordinate and vocal professional of Israel, slammed the charges from Nessel arsenic "shameful," telling the Detroit Metro Times successful an interview, "it seems that the Attorney General decided if the contented was Palestine, she was going to dainty it differently, and that unsocial speaks volumes astir imaginable biases wrong the bureau she runs.’ 

Anti-Israel demonstrators stitchery to protestation University of Michigan President Santa Ono's "Statement regarding Mideast violence" extracurricular the University of Michigan President's House connected Oct. 13, 2023, successful Ann Arbor, Michigan. A Jewish teen was assaulted successful what authorities person called a "bias-motivated attack" past weekend.  (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP, File)

Nessel responded connected X, "Rashida Tlaib should not usage my religion to connote I cannot execute my occupation reasonably arsenic Attorney General. It’s anti-Semitic and wrong.'"

Whitmer's hesitation to support Nessel caught the attraction of Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who scolded the politician for failing to enactment her lawyer general.

"@GovWhitmer, erstwhile your lawyer wide prosecutes radical for violating the law, harassing Jews, and attacking constabulary officers, it’s successful the involvement of nationalist safety. When a congresswoman accuses the lawyer wide of prosecuting protestors simply due to the fact that she’s Jewish, it’s bias."

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"Saying you privation to ‘make definite that students are harmless connected our campuses’ is conscionable words if you are not consenting to usage your bully pulpit to talk retired unequivocally connected antisemitism and enactment holding radical accountable for violating the instrumentality erstwhile it affects Jews."