Michigan Republican Party in crisis

GRAND RAPIDS — A judge said he may issue a ruling as early as Tuesday related to the disputed leadership of the Michigan Republican Party.

"It would be hard to imagine a controversy more complex than this," Kent County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Rossi said Thursday, after Michigan Republicans seeking to oust Kristina Karamo as state party chair closed their case in a request for a preliminary injunction against her, and after Karamo's attorney called on Rossi to dismiss the request, even without hearing testimony from her side.

Though the Republican National Committee has endorsed former ambassador and congressman Pete Hoekstra as Karamo's replacement, that "has no legal suasion," Rossi said. The case largely centers on interpretation of state party bylaws, he said.

Jonathan Lauderbach, a Midland attorney representing Malinda Pego, who served as Karamo's co-chair, and other Republicans who oppose her leadership, told the judge the confusion from the disputed leadership "undermines the integrity of the Michigan Republican Party," and is violating the First Amendment rights of his clients.

With both Karamo and Hoekstra claiming to be the lawful chair, anyone on the wrong side of the dispute is in potential criminal jeopardy under a section of federal law that makes it a crime, under certain circumstances, for someone to fraudulently misrepresent that they are acting on behalf of a political party, Lauderbach said.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Margaret Kurtzweil, an Oakland County attorney who is a member of the Michigan Republican Party state committee, testified Thursday her actions are inhibited by that statute and the current leadership dispute.

"I will not raise any money for the Michigan Republican Party until this dispute gets resolved, because the criminal consequences are way too severe," Kurtzweil testified. "It's my law license."

On Wednesday, Thomas Balch, a professional parliamentarian and one of the authors of the latest edition of "Robert's Rules of Order," testified that he believes Karamo was lawfully removed at a Jan. 6 meeting called by state committee members who oppose her.

But Donald Campbell, a Southfield attorney representing Karamo, has repeatedly tried to knock holes in the process that was followed, suggesting a larger quorum was needed, some of those who signed petitions calling for the special meeting had not paid their party dues and had therefore lost their privileges, and as many as three who signed petitions later recanted, saying they had signed on the basis of holding a special meeting on Dec. 27, as originally planned, and not on Jan. 6.

A 75% vote is required to remove Karamo as state party chair, but dissenters have convened meetings on Jan. 6 and on Jan. 20 that did not draw as many state committee members as either of the two recent meetings Karamo has presided over, on Jan. 13 and Feb. 17, Campbell argued.

Lauderbach only called three witnesses, but two thick binders of Michigan Republican Party bylaws, proxy sheets, petitions, and other documents are also in evidence.

The case is set for trial in June and there is not the required urgency to issue a preliminary injunction, Campbell told the judge.

Instead, it's "a classic internal political dispute," Campbell said.

Although Karamo and Hoekstra have called separate and competing caucus/convention meetings for March 2 to select presidential delegates to the Republican National Convention, "there is no injury," he said. "People can go to the meeting they choose."

Karamo was elected chair at a state convention last February but has come under fire over lackluster fundraising and other concerns.